Project Case Study
Strengthening institutions for achieving agricultural growth in Rwanda
Providing better planning for delivering inclusive agricultural growth with the Ministry of Agriculture
The Agriculture Technical Assistance Facility (Agri-TAF) supports the Rwandan Ministry of Agriculture by supporting better planning for the delivery of inclusive agricultural growth for the nation’s poorest.
While Rwanda has strong policies for agricultural development, delivery can remain a challenge. This is especially true of the ‘cross-cutting issues’ in agriculture: dimensions such as climate-smart agriculture, environmentally sound approaches, gender-sensitive programming, and nutrition rich food security. Neglect of these issues in policy and programming threatens sustainable growth of the agriculture sector and the wider economy.
The purpose of Agri-TAF is to mainstream consideration of cross-cutting issues into the Ministry of Agriculture’s planning, policy-making, monitoring, and evaluation. Our approach is to build the capacity of Ministry staff by growing their technical understanding of cross-cutting issues, with a focus on developing experiential knowledge and analytical skills. Complementing this, a degree of organisational development is required to enhance productivity and institutional performance. Finally, unlocking barriers to evidence-based decision-making is important for learning and adapting.
Underpinning all these approaches, Agri-TAF is launching and developing an agriculture sector management information system. The system will improve the reliability of data used as a basis for decision-making in the Ministry. In addition, consistent planning and monitoring and evaluation frameworks will create efficiencies and encourage organisational development.
Agri-TAF’s team are embedded within the Ministry of Agriculture for four years until 2020. Funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), this programme also aims to leverage additional funding into the Ministry to further progress on mainstreaming cross-cutting issues.
