Rwanda

Rwanda

countryName

Country Information: History

BASIC FACTS:

Land Area: 26,228 square Kilometers.
Population: 10.2 million in 2008.
Population density: >380 people /sq km

Rainfall: Rainy seasons: March - May and October – November (Average of 110-200 mm. per month).
Average Temperature: 24.6 - 27.6c.
Hottest months: February, August
Altitude: Ranges from 1000-4500m above sea level.
Main water bodies: Lake Kivu, Lake Muhazi, Lake Ihema, Lake Bulera, Lake Ruhondo, Lake Mugesera.
Vegetation: Ranges from dense equatorial forest in the north-west of the country to tropical savannah in the east.
Main National Parks/Animal Reserves: Akager, Nyungwe and Birunga Volcanoes National Parks.
Highest point: Karisimbi volcano (4,507m)
Borders: Uganda to the north, Tanzania to the east, Burundi to the south and Democratic Republic of Congo to the west.

 

HISTORY

Rwanda is a small, densely populated country situated in central Africa. Rwanda became independent in 1962, after colonization by Germany (1899) and Belgium (1919). In 1961 its monarchical government was formally abolished by a referendum and the first parliamentary elections were held.

A political turmoil over the sharing of power and repeated explosions of ethnic violence between the Tutsis and the Hutus has marked the history of the country. These conflicts triggered the displacement of tens of thousands of Tutsis to neighboring countries in 1959, 1969, and 1973, the launch of a rebellion in the early 1990s by the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) and culminated in the 1994 genocide. Between April and June 1994, over 1 million Rwandese people were killed by the genocidal regime and about 2 million people fled to neighboring countries, mostly to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

In July 1994, in lines of the Arusha Accords, a transitional government of National Unity was formed under the presidency of Pasteur Bizimungu. A National Assembly of the Transition was also established, comprising of representatives of all the political parties in the Government. Following the installation of the new government in 1994, almost all exiles from previous conflicts returned to Rwanda.

In Rwanda, massive returns have taken place in relatively orderly manner and most refugees have resettled. The country is at peace and secure and the establishment of a National Police Force has contributed to improving the human rights situation. A Commission for National Unity and Reconciliation has been set up, but time and effort will be needed in order to see the different result of reconciliation.

Since 2000, the Rwandan government has expressed interest in transforming the country from agricultural subsistence to a knowledge-based economy. A new constitution was enacted in June 2003. The first multi party presidential and parliamentary elections since independence were held in August and September 2003, resulting in the election of President Kagame with 95 percent of the vote and his RPF-led coalition won 75 percent of parliamentary seats. Rwanda will have it´s next presidential elections in 2010.

 

AGRICULTURAL SITUATION

Rwanda is a landlocked country of 26 338 km2 with more than 70% of the territory consisting of terrain. Rwanda's population is standing at more than 10 million inhabitants. With a population density of more than 380 people/sq km is the highest in Africa. The population has been increasing at an annual rate of about 2.8%, and is projected to increase to 15 million in 2020 and 20 million in 2030. Rwanda is also one of the poorest countries in the world with an annual income per capita of 370 U.S. dollars in 2008 with 56.9% of the population living below the poverty line.

 Rwanda's economy is mainly based on agriculture. Over 80% of Rwanda's population live in rural areas and a large part of the farmers have an average size of their land less than 1 hectare per household. The agricultural sector has contributed on average to about 42% of the GDP in 2008 and has enjoyed an average growth rate of 11.2% in 2008. The agricultural sector plays a crucial role with regard to exports because it generates 70% of export earnings (coffee, tea, pyrethrum is the most important) in 2008. The trade balance of Rwanda is characterized by a large deficit amounted to 3.5% of GDP in 2009 The government is pushing the diversification of exports, by promoting products such as flowers, fruits and handicrafts such as basketry.

 The rural incomes come mainly from the sale of food crops, livestock and crops. Unfortunately, it is clear that these last two decades, agricultural production remained insufficient to meet the needs of the growing population and inducing food insecurity and increasing poverty levels especially in rural areas where there is hard to find non-agricultural work.

 The development of agriculture is limited by the combined action of several cyclical and structural constraints, the main ones being:

  • Severe land degradation due to erosion
  • A strong dependence on agriculture in relation to climate and a very low level of use of water resources for irrigation, making agricultural production random one season to another
  • Low levels of productivity for both crops and livestock in particular following the low input use and production techniques and farming inefficient
  • Poor performance of extension services and research
  • Weak capacity of processing and higher value added products placed on the market
  • Insufficient funding and inadequate to the needs and specificities of the agricultural sector

 

GENERAL POLICY DEVELOPMENT 

In recent years, the Government of Rwanda has successfully conducted various exercises of participatory planning and prioritization of interventions that have resulted in the publication of reference documents: Vision 2020; EDPRS (Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy), and for the agriculture sector: NAP (National Agricultural Policy), and the PSTA II (Strategic Plan for the Transformation of Agriculture).

The beginning of the 21st century is also marked at the global level, with new commitments from the international community to address basic issues relating to economic and social development in a national and international environment facing rapid change. The establishment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is the most significant manifestation of these commitments. The first objective is to reduce extreme poverty and hunger by 50% by 2015. The MDGs were reaffirmed at the World Summit in 2005, and became a driving force for the UN system, including FAO. In this spirit and within the framework of its mandate, FAO has adopted a Strategic Framework 2000 - 2015 in order to contribute to:

  • Safe food and nutritionally adequate diet, accessible to all and at all times
  • Sustainable agriculture and rural development, ensuring economic and social well-being of all
  • Conservation, improvement and sustainable use of natural resources.

THE ONE UN PROGRAMME 

Following the results of the Millennium Summit of 2005 and the report entitled "Delivering as One" of the "High Level Panel (HLP) on the consistency of the entire UN system in the field of development assistance humanitarian and environment, the UN agencies were asked to implement these proposals. To test and refine the new structure of the UN, a pilot program was launched in eight countries: Albania, Cape Verde, Mozambique, Pakistan, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uruguay and Vietnam.

In Rwanda a Common Operational Document (COD) was adopted, operationalzing the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF). These documents form the basis for the One Programme in Rwanda, which is built on 5 pillars: 1) Governance 2) Health, Population, HIV and Nutrition 3) Education 4) Environment 5) Sustainable growth and social protection. This UNDAF is fully aligned to the national priorities specified in the Vision 2020, and in EDPRS. The UNDAF cycle is also fully synchronized with the EDPRS cycle (2008-2012).

NATIONAL PRIORITIES REGARDING FOOD SECURITY, AGRICULTURE AND ENVIRONMENT 

The long term framework is contained in the Government’s Vision 2020 which defines the country’s objective to become a middle income country by 2020. This document is compatible with the MDG framework. The Vision 2020 is built on six pillars, the sixth one being the “modernization of agriculture and animal husbandry for productive and market-oriented agriculture”.

The medium term strategy for achieving the Vision 2020 is contained in the Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy, or EDPRS 2008-2012, which is the second generation of the PRSP (PRSP I being accomplished in the period of 2001-2006). EDPRS identifies seven priority areas, including two that are relevant to food and nutrition security: “Poverty and vulnerability reduction” and “rural development and agricultural transformation”. The EDPRS was developed in 2007 as a medium term strategy. The United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) 2008-2012 is entirely aligned with the EDPRS.

(For more details and information on the national planning documentation in Rwanda, contact the following Website of Ministry of Economic Planning and Finance: http://www.minecofin.gov.rw/)

 The National Agricultural Policy (NAP) was adopted in 2004 and is based on the guidelines of Vision 2020. Its overall objective is to ensure sustained economic growth through poverty reduction and increasing farmers' incomes. Its specific objectives are: i) empower rural communities as active actors in the development of agriculture, ii) increase agricultural production, livestock and forestry through improved productivity of land and water iii) increase cash income through diversification of economic activities in rural areas iv) strengthen the link production/market v) sustainable management of natural resources and vi) improving the economic and social status of women and youth farmers in rural areas.

For the implementation of the NAP, the Strategic Plan for Agricultural Transformation (PSTA II) has been developed through close consultation and collaboration between the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI) and key partners. The PSTA was first adopted in 2005. It has been revised and updated under the PSTA II that puts particular emphasis on: i) consistency with the Strategic Plan (EDPRS) ii) clarifying the procedures for implementing the strategic directions for facilitate the process of implementation and budgeting.

The basic principles underlying the PSTA II are: i) the contribution to poverty reduction, ii) increasing productivity and competitiveness; iii) the allocation of resources and production according to requirements Market iv) sustainable use of natural resources; v) the active participation of beneficiaries and their ownership of development activities; vi) institutional sustainability; vii) flexibility of the strategy viii) the sensitivity to aspects of the Gender, Youth and HIV/AIDS. The PSTA is articulated through four main programmes and 21 sub-programmes. These four programmes are:

  1. Intensification of sustainable agricultural and livestock production systems
  2. The professionalization of producers
  3. Commodity chain and agribusiness development
  4. Institutional development 

All planning and evaluation tools from MINAGRI’s partners are brought under these four programmes and must be in line with the Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS), which provides the framework for all governmental bodies in the country. Furthermore, the PSTA II guides the 3 year rolling budget, also known as the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) as well as the annual budget.

 A Joint Agriculture Sector review (JASR) of the PSTA objectives versus the four high-level targets for the agricultural sector specified in EDPRS,   is undertaken each year by MINAGRI and its partners.                             

(For more details and information on the agriculture sector in Rwanda, contact the following Website of Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources: http://www.minagri.gov.rw/ )

FAO´s PRIORITIES IN RWANDA

Priority interventions, expressed in the FAO National Medium Term Priority Framework (NMTPF) in Rwanda for the period of 2008-2012, are selected based on the following considerations:

  1. They are based on the Government's priorities as defined under the PSTA II and the EDPRS. And responding to specific requests made by the Government.  Some priority areas in which GoR has requested support are i) protection and soil conservation, ii) seed production; iii) Irrigation.

  2. They are generally integrated in the UNDAF and COD, as part of the "Delivering as One" in Rwanda. FAO's activities are recorded mainly in Result 5 of the UNDAF/COD: "Sustainable Growth and Social Protection”, under the following Outcomes: Outcome 1 (Disaster Management), Outcome 3 (Intensification / Diversification / Food Security) and Outcome 4 (productivity and market access). Other FAO activities related to natural resource management have been included in Result 4, "Environment", while interventions for people living with HIV/AIDS and interventions with school gardening are respectively taken into account in Result 2 and 3.

  3. They take into account the need for complementarity with the national institutions and other development partners. The wishes of cooperation and assistance from FAO are mostly in: i) emergency assistance and development committees as a basis for managing aid ii) training and awareness on policies and laws enacted but not yet implemented, iii) formulation of appropriate regulations and procedures to facilitate access to seeds and other agricultural inputs; iv) the collection, processing, storage and publication of agricultural statistics; vi) collaboration more closely with other UN agencies in developing strategies and action plans for achieving food security and rural development.

  4. They are focused on areas where FAO has a comparative advantage recognized by the Government and other development partners. These comparative advantages are the following aspects: i) Council Strategies and Policies (CSP), ii) The case for investment and support the mobilization of resources for agriculture, the rural sector and food security, including preparation investment (PIMRIS) iii) Transfer of knowledge and information management (TCGI) iv) Training and institutional capacity building (CFI), v) Emergency and rehabilitation (UR) and vi ) Direct implementation.