Strategic Plan for Agricultural Transformation in Rwanda.

The Strategic Plan for Agricultural Transformation in Rwanda (SPAT) is a strategy with a multi-sectoral approach and national coverage which sets out objectives and actions to be undertaken in order to improve the agricultural sector in Rwanda, more specifically to promote transformation from subsistence agriculture into commercial agriculture with all its involvements in terms of institutional, social changes of behaviour and distribution of roles and responsibilities between different stakeholders. The overall objective of the agricultural sector corresponds with the one of the National Agricultural Policy (NAP), more specifically the overall objective of the SPAT is to contribute in a sustainable manner to poverty reduction and to support Rwanda’s economic growth through increasing productivities of production factors, maximal valorisation of productions, diversification of income opportunities, preservation and maintenance of natural and environmental resources.
The instrument is divided into four Parts. In the first Part, the document describes the framework and the current context within which the sector is developing and presents a diagnostic analysis of the sector, as well as preliminary results from grassroots consultations. In the second part, the document presents the SPAT’s challenges, its mission, its objectives, its key principles and strategic axes. Then, the analysis presents the four priority programs as well as actions that are expected from support sectors to agricultural production. The third part deals with the action plan and the indicative financing plan. The fourth part includes appendices, description of methodological aspects, the logical framework and technical details.
The strategy seeks to help eliminate hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition. Among its specific objectives, the SPAT aims to ensure a sufficient offer of agricultural products and food security to the populations, and to to increase levels and to diversify the households’ income sources.
In addition, the strategy seeks to make agriculture more productive and sustainable. Specific actions are foreseen to maintain, preserve and improve the management of water resources and soils. The following strategic lines are set: 1) Diversification and intensification of crop, animal and aquatic production; 2) Sustainable management of natural resources particularly water and soils. Intensification and development of sustainable production systems comprises five sub programmes: conservation of water and soils and sustainable management of natural resources; integration of agriculture and animal husbandry and management of soil fertility; use of marshland and irrigation development; supply of agriculture inputs; food security and risk management and marshlands vulnerability in the framework of quantitative objectives (presented in the action plan in the annex).
Reduction of rural poverty is among the specific objectives of the SPAT. The instrument is a participatory pro-poor strategy. This option is based on the fact that the majority of the population are rural, live of agriculture and because it is in that sector that there are the majority of poor.
The strategy also aims to enable more inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems, giving special attention to the resolution of social problems notably linked to gender, youth, farmers without land and other vulnerable groups. It seeks to reinforce ownership and assumption of responsibility by the farmers communities and organizations and private operators as well as partnership between the State and those other actors.