By Didas UWAMAHORO and Frank ABAHO

Rwanda, a small, landlocked country in East Africa, relies heavily on agriculture as the backbone of its economy and a key pillar for food security. Agriculture is pivotal to Rwanda’s economy, contributing 25 percent to the GDP and employing about 53.4 percent of the population.

Despite its significance, the sector grapples with challenges like low productivity and meeting the demands of a growing population. This paper emphasizes on strategies to uplift the productivity of these crops given their relevance in improving food security, hence economic growth whereby maize and soybeans play a crucial role with potential to scale.

The paper emphasizes the importance of agricultural inputs like improved seeds and fertilizers in boosting crop yields. Moreover, the role of farm size, erosion control, and irrigation in enhancing productivity has been highlighted to mitigate the climate effects.

The paper used secondary data analysis from National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) datasets covering Seasonal Agriculture Survey (SAS) 2017-2023. Production function models were employed to estimate productivity, while dynamic profitability models were constructed for investment purposes.

The Net Internal Rate of Return (IRR) is 1,150,900 FRW per hectare (ha) for maize and 595,000 FRW per ha for soybean as a case study, providing valuable insights for potential investors and financial institutional lenders in strengthening agricultural investments.

Furthermore, the analysis indicates that to satisfy market demand due to population growth and maintain stability without expanding cultivated land, an increase of only 500 kgs per hectare is required for maize farming. This would create a production surplus of 17,346 MT beyond the 2022 market demand and increase exports by 270%, from 6,431 MT to 23,777 MT.

For both maize and soybean, small and medium farmers exhibit higher odds of achieving higher yields compared to very small farmers. Organic farming practices and irrigation positively impact yields, while drought and excessive rainfall issues negatively affect productivity.

Robustness checks confirm the significance of various determinants on productivity, underscoring the importance of interaction effects between agriculture inputs and practices.

This study underscores the urgency of sustainable interventions to reinforce maize and soybean farming practice to increase productivity to ensure food security in Rwanda.

Key words : Productivity, Economic growth, and Food Security.

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