The Animal Resources Development Board Strategic Plan vision is stated as “improved food security and livelihoods of all Rwandans by transforming agriculture from subsistence into modern farming through generating research and extension innovations that generate sustainable crop, animal husbandry and natural resource management”. The vision was used in setting the organizational strategic objectives of RAB for the medium term (2020-2024) elaborated in the document. The document identifies four key result areas: 1. Research, innovation, extension and advisory services; 2. Sustainable agricultural intensification and resilience; 3. Agriculture commodity value chains and market development; and 4. Strengthening organization capacities and resource management. Under each area several strategic objectives have been adopted. Specifically, the policy adresses food security under several areas. Under Research and Innovation, the Plan envisages to enrich and conserve genetic resources for food, nutrition, income and environmental security (objective 1.2.). Moreover, under Sustainable agricultural intensification resilience, the objective 2.4 seeks to promote of nutrition sensitive agriculture (objective 2.4.). Regarding agriculture, several objectives have been adopted. Under Research and Innovation, the document proposes to promote demand driven research based on farms’ needs and national priorities in crop production and protection, animal production and health as well as natural resources; and private sector investment in research. Sustainable agricultural intensification and resilience area tackles food productivity by: sustainable land husbandry and crop production intensification with judicious use of hazardous pesticides and promotion of IPM including cultural practices; promoting climate smart agricultural technologies; sustainable animal production intensification; and post harvest handling, crop and animal product aggregation and market linkage. In addition, the Policy seeks to strength organizations capacities. The objectives settled for this area are: to improve human capacity development and management; to improve and manage RAB infrastructure for better delivery; to strengthen the use of ICT in RAB management and service delivery; and to improve corporate affairs and communication. Finally, for the promotion of resilience and adaptation, the proposals are: to leverage national, regional and international research results to adapt them to country conditions; to develop, implement and coordinate the pluralistic extension and service delivery system to meet the needs of the different actors along the value chain; and to promote climate smart agricultural technologies. Climate research and technology development and transfer will be focusing the following areas: water resource development; promotion of innovative irrigation technologies; management of irrigation infrastructures; crop varieties; conservation agriculture; and peri urban agriculture.
Rwanda · 2020-08-01