Over the past twenty years, returning to peace and stability, the country has started to buck this trend. Agricultural output is up by 300% since 2000; a remarkable increase that is unmatched across Africa. Even more impressively, the production of maize has skyrocketed. This staple food has always been important in Rwanda and the region, and today farmers can grow and harvest seven times more of it than they did fifteen years ago.

While it is unclear what the future holds for the country, some things are apparent. The population will continue to grow, urbanize, and seek prosperity, in the process putting further demands on the land. Climate change and intensive crop production will strain the soil and introduce an element of unpredictability through floods, droughts, and other disruptive events.

In order to weather these future storms and match the ‘Maize Miracle’ in other countries facing similar challenges, it is important to understand how Rwanda grew its agriculture so rapidly in the recent past.