The Joint Programme on Rural Women’s Economic Empowerment (JP RWEE) is a global initiative aimed at securing the livelihoods, rights, and resilience of rural women and their households. In Rwanda, it is funded by WFP, FAO, IFAD, and UN Women, and implemented by four partners targeting 8,000 rural women across five districts: Kirehe, Ngoma, Gisagara, Nyaruguru, and Nyamasheke. The component implemented by the Rwanda Rural Rehabilitation Initiative (RWARRI), in partnership with the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion (MIGEPROF) and funded by WFP, spans from 2024 to 2027.

Key interventions include the installation of a 10-hectare solar-powered irrigation system to support year-round vegetable production and enhance food security and nutrition; promotion of biofortified crops such as High-Iron Beans (HIB), Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potatoes (OFSP), and carotene-rich cassava; and improvement of post-harvest handling through the provision of solar dryers and eco-friendly crates. The project also supports the establishment of cold rooms, large-scale Zero Energy Cooling Chambers (ZECCs), and processing units to add value to farm produce.

Rural women are linked to agricultural value chain actors, including Farmer Service Centers (FSCs) and potential buyers, including schools. These efforts are complemented by policy engagement activities that raise awareness of existing policies and facilitate policy dialogues on gender, agriculture, and climate change policies to influence and bridge policy gaps affecting rural women.

Rwanda Rural Rehabilitation Initiative (RWARRI) has been a critical partner of World Vision Rwanda since June 2024. This partnership agreement was built on a joint initiative to promote household income through the development of a poultry value chain in the World Vision Rwanda Intervention area of Huye, Gisagara districts (Ishema cluster), Rusizi, Nyamasheke districts (Nyungwe cluster), Karongi district (Kivu cluster), Rutsiro, Ngororero districts (Tunga Cluster), Kayonza, Gatsibo and Nyagatare districts (Akagera cluster).

Improving productivity through the promotion of bio-fortified crops for smallholder farmers in the Rubavu and Rutsiro districts or the “HINGA-UKIRE Project” is an intervention covering approximately 5% of the total population that focuses on cultivating biofortified crops across 4500 hectares of beans, 900 hectares of cassava, and 810 hectares of sweet potatoes through coordinated multi-sectoral efforts.