03 | THE DELIVERY – AGRICULTURE
AGRICULTURE Developing the dairy industry in Rwanda
Smallholder farmers play an outsize role in food security, producing around a third of global food supply, according to Oxford University. Yet they are also among the most vulnerable to climate change, given their reliance on subsistence farming. In 2024, the OPEC Fund provided US$261 million to the agriculture sector in partner countries worldwide.
Rwanda, a rugged landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, is also known as the land of the thousand hills. Three decades after the genocide that killed hundreds of thousands of people, according to the UN, the country is now firmly focused on productive sectors such as agriculture and the raising of livestock. Today around 70 percent of the population works in the agricul- ture sector, generating a third of the country’s GDP, while net dairy exports stand at 16,000 tons per year, drawn from 1.5 million head of cattle. Yet despite a generation of peace at home, new threats are emerging for the country’s smallholder farmers. An environmental emergency is eating away at the hills, as 1.4 million tons of soil are lost to land degradation every year — in what is already one of the smallest, most densely populated countries in Africa. Clearly, effi- ciency and resilience need to be maximized in this critical sector. That is the difficult backdrop to the OPEC Fund’s US$20 million loan in support of the second phase of the Rwanda Dairy Devel- opment Project (RDDP II). Working across the entire dairy value chain, the project is boosting efficiency, productivity and resilience through targeted investments and enhanced market access. An additional component provides policy support, as well as moni- toring, evaluation and knowledge management. In the field, the project is improving access to fodder and water for livestock, while launching local training programs on climate- smart practices and nature-based solutions. Overall, the project is helping 750,000 rural smallholders and their families. That number includes many women and youth, who are benefitting from easier access to finance and efficiency gains from the digitalization of milk collection centers.
SONIA SISEROVA Country Manager, OPEC Fund
“The Rwanda Dairy Development Project, Phase II plays a critical role in transforming Rwanda's dairy sector by improving productivity, quality and market access for smallholder farmers. By enhancing the capacity of dairy value chains, it strengthens the livelihoods of rural communities and contributes to the nation’s economic growth. Through targeted interventions such as providing training on modern farming practices, improving animal health and increasing access to financing and technologies, the project is boosting milk production while ensuring higher standards of quality. It also supports the development of local dairy processing facilities and facilitates better market linkages, fostering rural development and creating job opportuni- ties. The project also aligns with Rwanda’s broader agricultural policies, contributing to food security and poverty reduction.”
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