Avocado farmers call for stronger financing, infrastructure and technical support to boost Rwanda’s export competitiveness

By Elias Hakizimana.

Rwanda’s avocado sector is showing strong growth potential, but farmers and technical institutions say significant gaps in financing, infrastructure, coordination, and compliance with standards must be addressed if the country is to fully compete in high-value international markets.

This was the central message during a recent Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and standards training that brought together farmers, exporters, and government institutions working across the avocado value chain.

The discussions reflected a shared ambition: to improve productivity, reduce post-harvest losses, and strengthen Rwanda’s position in the global avocado trade, while ensuring farmers benefit fairly from the growing demand.

Farmers face production risks, investment pressure and market challenges

For farmers like Beatha Kayirangwa from Musha Sector in Rwamagana District, avocado farming is both a promising opportunity and a demanding long-term investment.

She manages a 10-hectare farm, with only three hectares currently in production, yielding between three and six tonnes per season. The farm employs 25 workers, including six permanent staff, while others are hired seasonally during peak farming activities. Each year, she continues expanding her orchard by planting between 300 and 500 trees.

Kayirangwa said Good Agricultural Practices are essential for improving both yield and quality.

“Good Agricultural Practices help farmers understand everything that should be done from planting to harvesting and post-harvest handling. This improves both production and quality, enabling Rwandan avocados to compete in local and international markets,” she said.

However, she pointed to climate change as a growing threat. Excessive rainfall increases disease outbreaks, while drought and irregular rainfall reduce fruit quality and development.

Beyond production risks, she highlighted weak coordination among key actors such as farmers, exporters, NAEB, and RAB. She also stressed persistent infrastructure gaps, including poor roads, limited electricity, and inadequate storage facilities, which affect post-harvest handling.

“A farmer may produce high-quality avocados, but poor roads delay transportation and damage the fruits before they reach collection centers,” she said.

Kayirangwa also emphasized the financial burden of avocado farming, noting that trees take about three and a half years before generating income, while requiring continuous investment in inputs and labor. She called for affordable credit with longer grace periods, fair pricing, and stronger oversight of seedling multipliers under RAB to improve planting material quality.

From loss to recovery: a farmer’s experience

For farmers like Etienne Murere from Kibirizi Sector in Nyanza District, avocado farming has been a journey of both loss and resilience.

He currently cultivates three hectares and is preparing for his first harvest. He entered avocado farming during the COVID-19 period, motivated by food security concerns and the crop’s potential as a cash income source.

But his early experience was painful.

“I lost an entire plantation. Out of 250 seedlings planted on over one hectare, only five survived,” he said.

Despite the setback, he restarted his farm the following year and has since rebuilt his production. He said recent GAP training has helped him understand the full value chain, from seedling selection to post-harvest handling.

Murere stressed that farmers need stronger policy support, better market systems, and closer engagement from institutions such as NAEB to improve market access and fairness. He also pointed to weak post-harvest storage systems and lack of standardized pricing, which he said allows middlemen to dominate the market.

“Only traders benefit while farmers invest heavily to produce the crop,” he said.

He called for improved coordination between institutions and farmers, alongside access to low-interest loans, to strengthen investment and value addition in the sector.

RSB: standards, coordination and export opportunities

According to the Rwanda Standards Board (RSB), addressing these challenges requires stronger compliance with standards and improved post-harvest systems.

Aimable Shingiro, a Post-Harvest Handling Technical Assistance Specialist at RSB, said the government is supporting farmers through the Zamukana Ubuziranenge programme, which provides free technical assistance to farmers, cooperatives, and SMEs.

He explained that the programme, implemented under the Ministry of Trade and Industry, aims to improve compliance with quality and safety standards across agricultural value chains.

“In collaboration with the Avocado Society of Rwanda, we have conducted training on Good Agricultural Practices to help farmers comply with standards that improve quality and safety for both local and international markets,” he said.

However, he noted that major gaps remain, particularly in packhouse infrastructure, packaging materials, cold-chain systems, and post-harvest handling facilities, all of which require significant investment. Limited access to finance remains a key barrier.

RSB is working with NAEB, RICA, and the Rwanda FDA to strengthen coordination, food safety systems, and export compliance.

Shingiro also stressed the importance of targeting premium export markets, which require certification under Good Agricultural Practices.

“These markets require certified farmers and cooperatives. Compliance enables producers to access premium markets and better prices,” he said.

He urged farmers to implement the standards fully, noting that Rwanda’s adapted GAP system is based on GlobalG.A.P. but simplified for local use.

Avocado Society: expanding training and farmer coordination

Jean Damascène Musangamfura, Project Coordinator at the Avocado Society of Rwanda, said the organization has supported farmers since 2022, particularly in promoting export varieties such as Hass and Fuerte.

He said the Society has worked with the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI), the Rwanda Standards Board (RSB), the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB), the National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB), and development partners to strengthen the value chain. However, he noted that many farmers still lack knowledge of export requirements.

“Farmers do not know the standards needed for export markets,” he said, adding that training programmes are based on surveys and consultations with NAEB.

Countrywide, there are an estimated 16,000 avocado farmers, according to the Avocado Society of Rwanda. Stakeholders say the sector’s export potential remains strong, but unlocking it will require continued investment in infrastructure, affordable financing, technical support, and strict adherence to quality standards.

Ongoing training under the Rwanda Standards Board’s Zamukana Ubuziranenge programme and national awareness campaigns by the National Agricultural Export Development Board are expected to improve production, quality, and Rwanda’s avocado export earnings.

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