As Rwanda strides towards its ambitious goal of becoming an upper-middle-income country by 2035, and a high-income nation by 2050, the agriculture sector, Rwanda’s second-largest economic contributor, requires transformative innovations and technologies.

Themed “Building resilient and sustainable food systems”, the 17th National Agricultural Show that took place from July 31st to August 9th, 2024 in Kigali, provided a critical platform to drive this transformation. Enabel, the Belgian development agency, played a pivotal role in this year’s agrishow, showcasing its significant contributions to Rwanda's agricultural development.

Enabel's participation underscored its commitment to the agriculture sector through its various projects. Central to its involvement is the Partnership for Resilient and Inclusive Small Livestock Markets (PRISM) project, which Enabel has been running in collaboration with the Rwanda Agriculture Development Board (RAB) since 2019. PRISM has been instrumental in boosting the income and livelihoods of smallholder farmers and SMEs by transitioning them from traditional to market-oriented farming practices.

Expanding its impact, Enabel has also been active in the fisheries-aquaculture and horticulture sectors through the EU and Luxembourg funded KWIHAZA project, and with the new Belgium-Rwanda development cooperation program (2024-2029) in the Agriculture sector, its efforts, through PRISM II, will continue to span across various agricultural domains including pig, poultry, rabbit, and beekeeping value chains and the consolidation of the aquaculture and horticulture, sectors.

At the 17th National Agricultural Show, Enabel featured Team Belgium stands in the EU Village to highlight its agricultural advancements and projects. The exhibition booths showcased technologies and innovations across different sectors and visitors gained insights into success stories and the tangible impacts of Enabel’s projects on the ground. 

In addition to the exhibitions, the agrishow provided opportunities for networking and connections between smallholder farmers, SMEs, financial institutions, and other stakeholders, enabling partnerships, collaborations, and investment opportunities.

Enabel’s participation in the agrishow resulted in increased awareness and adoption of innovative agricultural practices and strengthened partnerships within the sector. This aligned perfectly with the National Agricultural Show’s objectives of showcasing technologies, facilitating investment discussions, and inspiring excellence in agriculture. 

Since 2008, the National Agricultural Show has been organised annually by Rwanda’s Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI) in collaboration with its partners. The event features around 400 exhibitors and attracts between 3,000 and 4,000 visitors each day.