Kigali, 26th November 2019,

Prime Minister, Dr Edouard Ngirente made a call to all Africans to align their agricultural transformation with the continental development agenda.

He made the call, while launching the Africa Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) 2020, and the home for the forum for the next 5 years to come, an event that brought together experts and partners in the agriculture sector on the African continent, at Park Inn by Radisson Kigali Hotel.

“The Government of Rwanda is fully committed to driving a comprehensive agricultural transformation at the heart of our economic transformation. This is emphasized in our Strategic Plan for Agriculture Transformation (PSTA4) which was launched last year. As Africans, we should keep trying to align the agricultural transformation with the continental development agenda, especially the African Continental Free Trade Area, and other wider commitments.” Premier Ngirente said.

Rwanda was selected to be the host of the African Green Revolution Forum 2020 (AGRF 2020) and serve as the long-term home country of the Forum going forward.

The Prime Minister revealed that Rwanda bid to host AGRF because it recognizes how essential agricultural sector is, to wider continental development. He added that the country wanted to be a key part of this movement and become one of the key players in advancing Africa agricultural sector agenda.

Speaking about the importance of AGRF, Prime Minister Ngirente stated that the Forum allows drawing, not only on the strength of our own countries but also to learn from others working across the continent and continuously pull in new partners.

Dr Ngirente revealed as well, how in Africa, the agriculture sector is not attractive as a business for the youth, and this results in the sector being dominated by an ageing population.

He recommended de-risk the agriculture sector, to attract the youth into agriculture, so as to attract investments and continue empowering youth and other farmers to use technologies that make agriculture a competitive and profitable business.