Rwanda’s Eastern Province contains the largest area of national farming lands, but it is highly vulnerable to increasing drought. With smallholder farmers depending exclusively on rainfall, changes to weather seasonality - including shorter and more intense rainy seasons - have led to crop failure, food shortages and famine. 

This project will restore ecosystems and transform fragile landscapes in this province (one of Rwanda’s five provinces) which have been degraded and are unable to sustain livelihoods in the face of climate change. It will support the development of markets and value chains in climate-resilient agricultural and tree products that are sustainably managed. Initial funds in this scalable initiative will be accompanied by financial commitments from local microfinance institutions and investors.