Agriculture

Why agriculture needs a chapter of its own

Agriculture is the largest employer in Rwanda and one of its largest sources of export earnings. The National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) put agriculture, forestry and fishing at 20% of GDP at current prices in fiscal year 2025/26, with real growth of 7% and export crops up 21%, and its 2025 Labour Force Survey places 39.1% of employed persons in the sector. The National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB) announced in August 2026 that agricultural exports reached about USD 1.1 billion in 2025/26, against USD 893 million the year before, the first time they have passed USD 1 billion; coffee, tea and horticulture remain the core of the basket. Farming is overwhelmingly smallholder: the fifth Strategic Plan for Agriculture Transformation (PSTA5) records an average landholding of 0.45 hectares, with half of agricultural households holding less than 0.2 hectares. That one fact shapes almost every legal question in this chapter, from how an investor assembles land and water to how it sources produce from outgrowers and cooperatives.

Policy is set in layers: Vision 2050, the second National Strategy for Transformation (NST2), the National Agriculture Policy of 2018 and PSTA5, which covers 2024/25 to 2028/29, was launched on 6 December 2024 and is costed at RWF 6,406.5 billion in its abridged version, 43.7% of it expected from private investment. Its targets steer where State land, irrigation and donor finance become available: agricultural export revenue of USD 1,540 million, foreign direct investment in agriculture and agro-processing rising from USD 23.2 million to USD 150 million, and 132,171 hectares under irrigation by 2028/29. The Investment Code opens every sector to private investment regardless of origin and lists large-scale agricultural operations, horticulture and agro-tourism among its priority sectors, and the Government promotes serviced sites such as the Gabiro Agribusiness Hub in Nyagatare District. The policy stack, the vehicles available to a foreign investor and the first 90 days of a new agribusiness are set out in Agricultural policy, law and regulators.

The 2026 framework laws and the regulators

The statute book changed on 11 September 2026, when Law N° 041/2026 of 02/09/2026 governing agriculture and Law N° 042/2026 of 02/09/2026 governing animal husbandry and fisheries were published in the Official Gazette n° Special Bis of 11/09/2026 and came into force. Law N° 041/2026 repealed Law n° 30/2012 governing agrochemicals, Law nº 005/2016 governing seeds and plant varieties and Law n° 16/2016 on plant health protection (Article 108), classifies farmers as small-scale, medium-scale or large-scale (Article 4), requires every farmer to farm so as to keep the soil productive and to respect label waiting periods for pesticides and fertilisers (Articles 5 and 6), and consolidates the rules on crop varieties, breeders' rights, seed, plant health and agrochemicals. Law N° 042/2026 repealed the laws of 2002 on livestock identification, of 2008 on contagious animal diseases and on aquaculture and fishing, and of 2013 on beekeeping (Article 66), and requires every livestock farmer to register with its Authority (Article 8).

Two features of the reform need watching. Almost every operational detail, from the farmer classification criteria and fees to licence requirements, the format of the phytosanitary certificate and administrative sanctions, is left to Ministerial Orders, none of which had been published at 16 October 2026. And neither Law contains a general transitional provision on licences, registrations and implementing instruments issued under the repealed laws, so a holder of a seed, agro-dealer, import or livestock authorisation granted before 11 September 2026 should confirm in writing with the issuing organ that it remains valid, and contracts and due diligence reports should cite the 2026 Laws. Law N° 041/2026 refers to "the Authority" without naming it; the Rwanda Inspectorate, Competition and Consumer Protection Authority (RICA) performs its plant health, seed and agrochemical functions in practice, while under Law N° 042/2026 the Authority is in practice the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB). A decision under either Law can be challenged by an internal appeal within 30 days, then a hierarchical appeal to the Minister within a further 30 days.

Around these bodies sit the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI), which makes policy and the Orders; NAEB, which licenses exporters and regulates export commodities; the Rwanda Food and Drugs Authority (Rwanda FDA) and the Rwanda Standards Board (RSB) for processed food, veterinary medicines and standards; the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) for registration, the investment certificate and State land requests; and the National Land Authority (NLA), the Rwanda Water Resources Board (RWB) and the Districts for land and water. The division of powers is mapped in Agricultural policy, law and regulators.

Land, water and the fiscal position

Agricultural land is held on a 99-year emphyteutic lease under Article 18 of Prime Minister's Order N° 008/03 of 03/07/2022, and State land for commercial farming is usually granted as a concession of up to 49 years under Article 11 of Law N° 27/2021 of 10/06/2021 governing land; a concession, unlike a lease, cannot be mortgaged. Most private farmland is assembled by sub-lease from smallholders, one contract per parcel, and a sub-lease of five years or more must be registered (Article 28). The Land Law requires farmland to be used in line with land use consolidation (Article 65), and unexploited agricultural or forestry holdings of 5 hectares or more can be requisitioned after 90 days' notice and assigned to another person for three years, or ten for forestry. Swamp lands belong to the State and are granted only by concession (Article 33). Irrigating more than one hectare needs a water use permit from RWB, applied for through the District Mayor at a fee of RWF 35,000 and decided within 90 days, and above ten hectares the application must include an environmental impact assessment certificate and a feasibility study, which puts water and environment on the critical path of every large farm. These rules are in Agricultural land, irrigation and water, which builds on How foreign investors access land.

There is no separate agricultural tax code, but the general statutes contain targeted rules. A registered investor in a large-scale agricultural operation, meaning mechanised crop production on at least 200 hectares, livestock production of at least 5,000 chickens and at least 500 other animals, or at least 500 tonnes of fish a year, pays 15% corporate income tax instead of 28%; exporters of 30% or 50% of turnover may pay 25% or 15% for up to five years, except exporters of tea and coffee without value addition; and horticulture, although a priority sector, normally reaches a preferential rate only through exports. Farm income is exempt up to turnover of RWF 12,000,000. Unprocessed produce, processed maize, rice and milk other than powdered milk, agricultural insurance and about 5,700 listed inputs and machines are exempt from VAT, while exports are zero-rated; the industrial machinery exemption ended on 30 June 2026 and a VAT Deferral Facility has applied to manufacturers since 1 August 2026. Finance comes from the Development Bank of Rwanda (BRD), which absorbed the Business Development Fund at the end of 2025, the Export Growth Fund, warehouse receipts and the National Agriculture Insurance Scheme, which subsidises 40% of premiums. All of this is in Agribusiness incentives, tax, finance and insurance, read with Investment incentives and VAT and electronic invoicing.

Seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and plant health

Law N° 041/2026 now governs every input business. A new crop variety is examined for novelty, distinctness, uniformity, stability and value for cultivation and use, or only for value for cultivation and use if already approved abroad (Article 13), and may be cultivated only once it is on the national crop variety list published annually in the Official Gazette (Article 14). A breeder's right lasts not less than 20 years, or 25 for trees and vines (Article 38), subject to a farm-saved seed exception for small-scale farmers and to compulsory licences. Seed reproduction, processing and trading each need a licence, to be granted within 30 days of a compliant application (Articles 47, 48 and 50). Every agrochemical or bio-input must be entered in the national list before use or sale (Article 79), every commercial activity from import to application needs a licence and registered premises (Article 84), and each import needs a permit (Article 86). Trading in substandard or counterfeit seed or non-compliant agrochemicals carries two to five years' imprisonment and a fine of five to ten times the value of the goods (Articles 104 and 105).

At the border, every consignment of plants or plant products must carry a phytosanitary certificate from the exporting country (Article 66), and genetically modified organisms need a separate permit under Law n° 025/2024 governing biosafety. Smallholder demand is reached largely through the Smart Nkunganire subsidy, which runs through importers contracted by RAB and licensed agro-dealers. The licensing route for a foreign seed or agrochemical company is in Seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and plant health, and licensing of technology in Technology transfer, franchising and licensing.

Export crops: horticulture, coffee and tea

Horticulture export revenue rose from USD 5.8 million in 2015/16 to USD 86.2 million in 2024/25, according to NAEB figures, with vegetables earning USD 53.8 million and avocados over USD 8.6 million, about 90% of them sold to the United Arab Emirates. An exporter must be registered by NAEB with a valid export operation licence and obtain a phytosanitary certificate from RICA under Article 68 of Law N° 041/2026, after inspection at approved premises; a commercial export without one is an offence under Article 103. Since RICA's Export Protocols of December 2025, capsicums, cut roses, Momordica and baby corn can be certified for the EU and UK only from approved pest-free protected sites, so greenhouses or shade nets have become a condition of market access. NAEB's avocado instructions of 28 October 2024 set minimum dry matter of 21% for Hass, and EU residue limits for clothianidin and thiamethoxam fell to between 0.01 and 0.05 mg/kg from 7 March 2026. Market rules, investment models, cold chain and medicinal cannabis are in Horticulture: fruit, vegetables and flowers.

Coffee and tea have no statute of their own and are regulated by ministerial and NAEB instructions. Ministerial Instructions N° 006 of 15/06/2023 ended coffee zoning, require fully washed processing unless NAEB authorises another method, and charge exporters 3% of value on fully washed coffee scoring below 80 points and 5% on semi-washed coffee, specialty coffee being exempt. The 2026 minimum cherry price is RWF 750 per kilogram, and a station that buys below it is fined RWF 1,000,000 and must pay farmers the shortfall under Instructions N° 224/2026. New washing stations are approved only through production-led routes, such as an investor bringing at least 500,000 trees into production under an agreement with NAEB and the District, so most investors acquire existing ones; the Export Operation Licence is free and valid for five years but not transferable. Tea leaf may reach a factory only through a cooperative or service company under NAEB's 2025 instructions. The EU Deforestation Regulation applies to coffee, but not tea, from 30 December 2026 for large and medium operators, and Europe takes over 61% of Rwanda's coffee exports. These rules, with pyrethrum and chia, are in Coffee, tea and other export crops; share purchases of station companies follow Acquiring a Rwandan company.

Livestock, processing and the route to market

Under Law N° 042/2026 every farmer registers with the Authority and every animal reared or imported is identified and registered (Articles 8, 18 and 19); aquaculture, stocking of fish, beekeeping and insect farming need authorisation (Articles 11 to 15); imported animals are isolated at the owner's cost until certified free of disease (Articles 35 and 55); new farmed aquatic species may be imported only for research (Article 16); and the Law makes no provision for compensation when stamping-out is ordered (Articles 40 and 41), so insurance and contract terms carry that risk. Animals may be treated only by registered veterinary doctors, with drugs approved by Rwanda FDA. RICA registers milk collection centres and slaughterhouses free of charge in 14 working days and licenses slaughterhouse operators for two years, and the 2016 milk Order requires milk to be tested at a collection centre and kept at 4°C or below in transit. MINAGRI's figures show 1,061,301 tonnes of milk in 2022/23, against a PSTA5 target of 1,323,561 tonnes and 35,000 tonnes of farmed fish by 2028/29. The detail, with a worked dairy investment, is in Livestock, dairy, poultry and aquaculture.

A food processor needs Rwanda FDA's approval of its site and plans before building, a premises licence valid for 12 months, a good manufacturing practice inspection before release and a five-year registration for each product, at domestic fees such as RWF 75,000 for fruit products; RSB certifies products under the S-Mark. No statute regulates contract farming specifically, so outgrower agreements rest on Law N° 45/2011 governing contracts, whose rules on written evidence, agreed damages and lesion shape the terms, and on Law n° 057/2024 governing cooperatives, under which members' shares cannot be pledged and disputes with creditors go first to the Rwanda Cooperative Agency. Buyers that agree farm-gate prices among themselves risk the cartel prohibition of Law N° 011/2026. Exports need a phytosanitary certificate for plant products, a Rwanda FDA health certificate or export permit for processed food and a certificate of origin to claim EAC, COMESA, AfCFTA, EU Everything But Arms or AGOA preferences, AGOA having been extended to 31 December 2028. These rules are in Agro-processing, food safety, contract farming and exports, with Commercial contracts in Rwanda and Customs and EAC trade.

How to use this chapter

Every reader should begin with Agricultural policy, law and regulators, which explains the 2026 Laws, the Orders still awaited and which body decides what. A horticulture exporter should then read Horticulture: fruit, vegetables and flowers for NAEB, RICA and destination rules, Agricultural land, irrigation and water for leases and water permits, Agribusiness incentives, tax, finance and insurance for the export rates and VAT recovery, and Agro-processing, food safety, contract farming and exports for outgrower contracts. An estate or plantation investor should read the land and incentives sections first, then Coffee, tea and other export crops for a coffee or tea estate, with How foreign investors access land. An input supplier of seed, fertiliser, pesticides or bio-inputs should read Seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and plant health and the VAT exemption list in the incentives section. A livestock, dairy or aquaculture investor should read Livestock, dairy, poultry and aquaculture, then the land section and the incentives section for the large-scale thresholds and livestock insurance. An agro-processor should read the agro-processing section, the incentives section for the end of the machinery exemption and the VAT Deferral Facility, and, for an acquisition, Merger control and competition law. A lender or acquirer should read the incentives section for collateral, warehouse receipts and BRD's schemes, the land section for which rights can be mortgaged (registered leases can, concessions and marshland cannot), the coffee and tea section on non-transferable licences, the livestock section on stamping-out without compensation and the agro-processing section on cooperative shares, with Due diligence in Rwanda.

Each section ends with the related Be Rwanda Wise FAQs, the official sources and a question you can put to Rwandabot, the AI legal-information chatbot, about your own project. Figures are stated at 16 October 2026. Because the Ministerial Orders under Laws N° 041/2026 and N° 042/2026 are still awaited, because the status of licences issued under the repealed laws has not been settled, and because NAEB's seasonal instructions and prices change each year, check the position with the competent authority before relying on it for a later season or transaction (FAQ 91).