Project rationale, Goal, specific objectives, strategies, implementation policy

Rationale of a crop focused project

The choice of a crop focused project responds to the challenge of assisting the GoR to develop sub-sectors of agriculture, which are of key importance for the growth of the national economy, and, at the same time, to seize emerging opportunities for combining such economic development objectives with poverty reduction objectives. Support of subsistence agriculture alone, however is not sufficient to reduce poverty. Effective poverty reduction requires market-oriented intervention, effective linkages with market opportunities, and initiatives that can generate multiplier effects in the economy. In Rwanda, the rehabilitation and development of the export crops sub-sector, and the maximization of related foreign exchange earnings, are key factors of sustainable economic growth and balance of payment equilibrium. Rwanda has good potential for significantly increasing the quantity and the value of the traditional export crops and for diversifying the production of cash crops to meet both export and local market demand.

Due to poor international market prices, the current coffee production is half of the level reached in the 1980s, and the quality is poor due to inadequate processing and absence of control over quality. However, several areas of Rwanda produce excellent arabica coffee at farm level. This production can be expanded, and processed with modern methods, to produce coffees that can be marketed at much higher prices than currently obtained. Several areas of Rwanda produce valuable tea crops, for which current export prospects are still favourable. There is scope to increase tea production, expand processing facilities, and improve marketing. Diversification of cash crop production is possible wherever local and export market demand exists. Such crops include selected tropical fruits and spices, silk from silk worm mulberry trees, other crops such as vanilla, etc. These new sectors would provide employment to many poor women.

New market opportunities for coffee and tea producers in developing countries are emerging as a result of the activities of private enterprises of the Fair Trade (FT) network in the markets of high income countries. The FT network has developed special market niches for labelled quality products and offers remunerative prices to cooperatives of smallholder producers that manage to supply such quality products. The participation of FT network members in this project will secure organisation and training of smallholder cooperatives in processing and marketing their crops so that they can meet the quality standards required, innovative marketing strategies, and access to remunerative markets for the cooperative products. As part of their mandate, the FT organisations provide continuous support to the cooperatives, well beyond the completion of projects, thus enhancing sustainability. To this effect, the project has secured the participation of TWIN, the FT organisation most experienced in working with poor smallholder cooperatives in East Africa and Latin America, in the capacity of FT technical partner and co-financier of the project.