Rwanda Joins African Push to Attract Agrifood Investment at Rome Forum
A tea plantation in Rwanda. Tea is among the country’s priority agrifood investment opportunities.
Rwanda will join 19 other African countries in presenting agrifood investment opportunities to global investors at a major Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) forum in Rome this month, as governments seek financing to expand agricultural production, processing and trade.
The 2026 Hand-in-Hand (HIH) Initiative Investment Forum will take place at FAO headquarters from October 13 to 16, bringing together governments, investors, development banks, foundations and private-sector partners.
The 20 African countries will account for more than half of the 38 countries presenting investment opportunities at the forum, giving Africa a prominent role in discussions on agrifood investment.
For Rwanda, the forum provides another platform to attract investment into agricultural value chains with export and income-generation potential, including tea, coffee and avocado.
FAO’s Hand-in-Hand investment work in Rwanda has identified several priority value chains and investment cases, including tea, livestock, potatoes, avocado and chilli, with proposed investments covering production, processing, infrastructure and market access.
Rwanda has already used the Hand-in-Hand platform to present major agricultural investment opportunities. In 2024, the country presented five investment areas valued at about $785 million, covering tea, livestock, potatoes, horticulture and beef production.
The country’s participation in the Rome forum also follows an Eastern Africa Hand-in-Hand Investment Forum held in Kigali in August, which brought together governments, investors, financial institutions and development partners from eight countries, including Rwanda. Discussions focused on turning priority agricultural opportunities into bankable investments.
FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Africa Abebe Haile-Gabriel said the participation of 20 African countries demonstrates growing government ownership of the continent’s agrifood investment agenda.
“What they bring to the Forum are not project ideas, but investment cases grounded in evidence and backed by political commitment,” he said.
The wider African plans cover staple crops such as rice, maize, cassava and soybean, alongside export commodities including coffee, cocoa, cashew nuts, tea, avocado and honey.
They also include livestock, fisheries and aquaculture, as well as investments in irrigation, mechanization, agroprocessing, seed systems and other infrastructure needed to strengthen agricultural value chains.
The forum will also feature regional initiatives, including one focused on Southern Africa and another covering African Small Island Developing States. A special session will examine financing opportunities along the Lobito Corridor linking Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia.
The Hand-in-Hand Initiative, launched by FAO in 2019, uses data, economic analysis and a territorial approach to help governments identify where agrifood investment can have the greatest impact on poverty, hunger and economic development.
During the Rome forum, participating governments will present their investment opportunities and hold bilateral meetings with potential investors and development partners.
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