The five-year, USD 15 million project is implemented across all 30 districts of Rwanda to strengthen local agri-food systems with a particular focus on promoting the participation of youth and women in the agriculture sector.
The project aims to engage 200,000 smallholder farmers (SHFs), with at least 50 percent being women and 80 percent youth, and to enroll 600 farmer service centres (FSCs), with 60 percent operated by women and 80 percent by youth. The key objectives are to grow SHF profits, improve post-harvest processes and expand access to finance through interventions focused on market access, capacity and skills development and creation of a blended finance facility.
The mid-term evaluation report presents the findings of the second phase in a series of three linked evaluations for the project. The scope of the evaluation covered all activities implemented since its initiation in 2022 across Rwanda’s Eastern, Northern, Southern and Western Provinces and Kigali city. It assessed how the project addressed the specific needs and barriers faced by young men and women in Rwanda's agricultural sector.