Rwanda faces persistent challenges with malnutrition, and there is increasing interest in the country in taking a food systems approach to tackling it. However, getting this new approach into the development and agricultural sector’s agendas requires understanding the landscape of actors involved. In response, the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition commissioned an analytical mapping of actors involved in nutrition and the food system in Rwanda, which was implemented by the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute. This was accomplished by conducting a stakeholder mapping at district and national levels through key informant interviews and Net-Map analysis as well as a policy landscape analysis.
The results identified strengths and areas of improvement within collaborations in Rwanda’s nutrition and food system including leadership and political will at a national level for nutritious food systems in Rwanda as well as the need for strengthening coordination of private-sector actors and increasing multi-sectoral coordination in order to effectively use resources. The insights derived from this mapping will guide GAIN’s collaboration with MINAGRI and its partners to identify most critical actors involved in nutrition and food systems, fostering stronger partnerships to develop and implement a nutrition-sensitive Strategic Plan for Agricultural Transformation.