Improving seed import/export regulations in Rwanda

GLOBAL INSIGHT

- Dr Tinashe Kapuya

In previous articles, I have referred to the Enabling the Business of Agriculture (EBA) study, a project of the World Bank. The study benchmarks the regulatory environments of 101 countries across the world, including those in sub-Saharan Africa, and provides information on several key indicators, including supplying seed; registering fertiliser; securing water; registering machinery; sustaining livestock; protecting plant health; trading food; and accessing finance.

The EBA country reports unpack the various indicators and outline the weaknesses and strengths to describe the performance of the regulatory environment.

A PECULIAR CASE

In this article, I examine Rwanda, which is an unusual case study. In other areas of its economy, Rwanda is considered an exemplar of a reforming economy. It sits in 38th place out of 190 economies in the World Bank’s Doing Business ranking, placing it among the best performers in sub-Saharan Africa in terms of ease of doing business.

However, the country was ranked 80th out of the 101 countries assessed in the World Bank’s 2019 EBA study, a position starkly at variance with the Doing Business ranking.

There are several explanations for this discrepancy, and these mostly involve gaps in the country’s regulatory system for its agriculture sector. For instance, Rwanda currently does not have specific regulations on registration and standards compliance of agriculture machinery and tools.