‘Climate-smart agriculture’: top-down solutions versus knowledge from the ground in rural Rwanda

Policymakers and international donors promote climate-smart solutions in agrarian modernisation, yet the term remains ambiguous in the literature. In Rwanda, new climate-smart policies appear distinct from past Green Revolution models but risk repackaging the same top-down approaches. Standardised, technology-driven solutions may again marginalise rural communities’ knowledge and lived experiences. This paper argues for a historically grounded, inclusive approach that views farmers as active participants rather than passive recipients. Moving beyond the modernity-versus-tradition binary, agrarian transformation must prioritise adaptability, participation, and the recognition of agriculture as both a cultural and political practice.