Rwanda, February 2021
The CARD Working Week for developing NRDS-II Project Concept Notes in Rwanda
Household surveys conducted in the recent years have reinforced the perception that rice has become an important commodity for a vast majority of Rwandan population. Introduced in the 1960s through missionaries, rice was initially grown mostly in small scale until 1990s. Recognizing a growing market response to imported rice during the late 1990s, Government of Rwanda (GoR) tested various strains of rice in the marshlands in early 2000s. Studies conducted by AfricaRice in Rwanda quickly revealed that rice is perhaps the only crop that can be grown sustainably in flood-prone marshlands of Rwanda.
With support from CARD initiative’s first phase, Rwanda established its National Rice Development Strategy (NRDS-I; 2010-2018). Under the NRDS-I, GoR and other development partners in Rwanda invested enormous resources in reclaiming marshlands for rice cultivation. During this period, the area under rice cultivation increased from 12,975 Ha to 32,780 Ha; and annual production of rice increased from 67,253 tons to 113,880 tons. Despite such a progress however, the demand for rice in local markets had continued to outpace the local production.
Under the phase II of CARD (2019-2030), GoR requested the CARD Secretariat to provide technical assistance for revamping its NRDS-I on production and in addressing newly emerging challenges. Through consultations with Rwanda’s NRDS taskforce, CARD recently assisted drafting NRDS-II (2021-2030) in December 2020. While waiting for the NRDS-II to undergo a validation process by Agriculture Sector Working Group and other national stakeholders, the taskforce requested the CARD Secretariat to also concurrently identify bankable project concepts from the NRDS-II.
Although CARD’s country missions have long been curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic, CARD has successfully conducted working weeks with taskforce members of a few member countries in the recent months. In a similar fashion, the Rwanda’s taskforce agreed to organize a virtual workshop for 4 days (16-19 February, 2021). To moderate a recent surge in COVID-19 cases, GoR has imposed lockdown and movement restrictions. Hence the taskforce members decided to participate in the virtual workshop through online mode from their respective homes. It was also agreed that CARD’s Regional Consultant could provide the necessary technical support and facilitate the discussions bankable project ideas (concept notes) over the online platform.
