Rwanda – Huye district: Farmers Decry Shrinking Farmland as Government Offers Support.

Huye, Rwanda – As the demand for agricultural land continues to rise across the country, farmers in Huye District are raising concerns over diminishing farmland, which they say is negatively affecting crop yields and food availability.
In recent remarks, Prime Minister Dr. Edouard Ngirente acknowledged the growing issue and announced that the Rwandan government will begin lending its idle land to citizens for agricultural use. This initiative comes after a successful campaign last year that encouraged landowners to lend their unused land to neighbors, which significantly boosted agricultural productivity.
“In the last Season A, agricultural production increased because we brought over 30 additional hectares of unused land under cultivation,” said Prime Minister Ngirente. “We asked citizens with unused land to temporarily lend it to neighbors for farming. The land remained theirs, but the productivity benefited everyone. We now plan to include government-owned land in this initiative.”
Local residents who spoke to Sound of Africa said infrastructure developments and population growth have consumed much of the land previously used for farming.
“Farmland is becoming scarce,” said Izai Hakizimana, a resident of Huye. “Everywhere you look, there are houses, roads, and schools being built. All of this is taking over land we used to farm.”
Another resident from Cyarwa Cell in Tumba Sector expressed concern about food shortages and rising market prices. “Food is becoming scarce and more expensive. That’s because there’s less land available for farming due to infrastructure development,” they said.
Agriculture remains central to Rwanda’s economy, employing over 69% of the population and contributing 24% to the national GDP in the first quarter of 2025.
As farmland continues to shrink, the government’s land lending strategy is seen as a timely intervention aimed at sustaining food security and supporting rural livelihoods