Ever wonder what kind of business you can do in Rwanda to make a real living and maybe even get wealthy? Most people immediately think of trading, maybe starting a small business, or getting into carpentry or entertainment. But what about agriculture? That’s what we’re going to talk about today.
When you bring up farming in Rwanda, the same questions always pop up: Where do you even find enough land to make it worthwhile? How much money does it actually cost? What should you even plant to turn a profit? And what crops work best in certain areas? These are just a few of the many questions I’ve heard, and in this article, I’ll share what I’ve learned to help you find some answers.
Rwanda is a small country, so finding large plots of farmland is tough. It’s rare to find anyone who owns more than two hectares for farming. This makes it difficult to rent a huge, single piece of land for a big harvest. So, if you want to farm on a large scale, you usually have to look for land in different areas.
And when I say “different areas,” I’m talking about people who don’t own land and need to rent. It’s almost impossible to find one massive, connected piece of land for rent, so you might end up renting one field in one district and another plot in a completely different place.
Farming in multiple areas has its pros and cons. The great thing is that it lets you grow different crops at the same time. The downside is that it’s a pain if you want to focus on just one crop in large quantities. For those of you who want to plant various crops, having different fields is actually a bonus. Trying to mix different crops in the same field can be tricky—they can get in each other’s way, and one crop might thrive while another fails. Having separate plots ensures each crop gets the soil it needs to grow well.
Before you jump into professional farming, there are a few things you need to handle. First, you need cash. Every business needs capital. For farming in Rwanda, I’d say you need at least 1 to 3 million Rwandan francs, depending on how big you want to start. That money covers everything: land rental, workers’ wages, seeds, fertilizer, and all the other essentials you need to get the project off the ground.
Second, you have to do your homework. That means spending time traveling around to research modern farming methods, find fertile land, and choose the right crops for a specific area.
Third, you’ve got to think about management. Who are you going to hire? What tools will you use? How will you get fertilizer and seeds to your farms? And, most importantly, how are you going to get your harvest to the market once it’s ready?
Another critical factor is market demand. You have to figure out which crops are needed but aren’t oversupplied. For example, if you grow a ton of tomatoes and everyone else does too, you might all harvest at the same time. This floods the market, prices drop, and you end up losing money.
So, let’s imagine you have a small capital of just 1 million Rwandan francs. What can you do with that? Right now, potatoes, maize, rice, and beans are some of the most profitable and marketable crops in Rwanda. Just remember that rice needs marshlands, and potatoes are limited to certain regions. But maize and beans? You can grow those almost anywhere if you take care of them properly.
Let’s say we choose to grow beans and maize and start our project in January 2026. We can’t start in the September season because by then, most people have already planted, and it’s nearly impossible to find land for rent.
So, in November and December, we’ll travel to different districts to find the best areas for farming, focusing on soil fertility. This timing is perfect because the crops planted in September are starting to mature, making it easy to see which areas produce a good harvest. From my own experience, Musanze, Gatsibo, and Ngororero are some of the best districts for maize and beans. However, the soil in Gatsibo often requires a lot of fertilizer, so Musanze or other districts might be a better choice.
Once we find the right area, we’ll rent two plots of land: one for maize and one for beans. You can also mix in a small amount of maize with the beans since it doesn’t disturb their growth. Each plot will be half a hectare.
Renting these two plots will cost us around 400,000 to 450,000 Rwf. Let’s budget 450,000, which leaves us with 650,000 Rwf to get the rest of the project going.
In December, after the previous tenants have harvested, we’ll start plowing. Renting two tractors—one for each field—will cost around 60,000 Rwf per plot, for a total of 120,000 Rwf. Now we have 530,000 Rwf left.
Next, we buy seeds and fertilizers. The maize field will need more fertilizer, while the bean field needs less. Fertilizers, both organic and industrial, will probably cost around 100,000 Rwf. The seeds will be another 50,000 Rwf. After these purchases, we’ll have 380,000 Rwf remaining.
In January, it’s time to plant. Hiring workers to sow the seeds and apply fertilizer will cost about 80,000 Rwf, leaving us with 300,000 Rwf. We’ll also hire workers to monitor the crop growth, check for diseases, and maintain the fields. By the time all the planting and crop care is done, we should have about 200,000 Rwf left.
By April, it will be harvest season. That 200,000 Rwf will be used for harvesting and transporting the crops to storage and the market. Harvesting labor will cost about 50,000 Rwf, while transport and processing will be around 100,000 Rwf. We’ll have about 100,000 Rwf left over as a reserve.
Based on my experience, from this land size, we can expect about one ton of beans and two tons of maize. If we sell the beans wholesale at 800 Rwf per kilogram, one ton brings in 800,000 Rwf. For maize, at 500 Rwf per kilogram, two tons give us 1,000,000 Rwf.
This means that in just one season, the maize alone recovers our entire 1 million Rwf investment, and the beans provide a pure profit. In total, we could make an extra 800,000 Rwf in profit in less than a year.
It just goes to show you that farming in Rwanda, if you do it carefully and strategically, can generate some serious income in a short amount of time. Instead of putting your money into a business that might fail quickly, investing in agriculture could be the path to building long-term, sustainable wealth.
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