Farming (Agriculture and Animal husbandry)

Introduction 

The agricultural sector in Rwanda, like any other in the world, has its own challenges. However, efforts are being made to address these challenges in order to improve agricultural production in Rwanda. This unit highlights some of the problems facing agriculture in Rwanda and their possible solutions. The following figures give an overview of the unit:

7.1 Problems facing agriculture in Rwanda 

Activity 7.1: Finding out problems facing agriculture in Rwanda

 Materials required 

• Any internet available 

• School library 

• Videos 

Use the references provided to: 

(i) Carry out research on the problems facing agriculture in Rwanda. Alternatively, watch a video show on problems facing agriculture in Rwanda. 

(ii) Discuss and record your findings. 

(iii) Present your findings to the class.

 (iv) Take the teacher’s summary notes.

The agricultural sector in Rwanda is faced with a lot of challenges or problems.

(a) Land shortage 

Land sizes per unit holding in Rwanda are generally small. This is attributed to high population density. The other reason is that most of the Western, Northwestern parts of the country and parts of Central Rwanda are mountainous. Rwanda has an area of 26,336 km2 of land. The total arable land in Rwanda is about 1.4 million hectares which is 52% of the total land. However, the actual cultivated land exceeds 1.6 million hectares. Another 0.47 million hectares are under permanent pastures, meaning that well over 70 % of the country’s total land surface is exploited for agriculture (ROR 2008).

(b) Lack of capital 

Capital includes all the man-made assets used in the production of desired goods. According to Rwanda statistical year book 2015, about 39.1% of the people of Rwanda live below the poverty line and, therefore, are not able to invest heavily in farming. Farming methods remain at subsistence levels. Most of the farmers use hand tools and simple mechanisation using animal-drawn implements for cultivation in large-scale. Mechanisation is limited to a few commercial farms that can afford them.

(c) Pests and diseases 

Pests and diseases in both crop and livestock remain a major challenge in agricultural 204 production in Rwanda. This reduces farm outputs greatly. This is attributed to lack of the necessary information and capital in the control of pests and disease and conducive environment for the multiplication of pests and disease causing organisms. Common livestock parasites include: ticks and internal parasites while diseases include: the tickborne diseases for East Coast fever. Others include foot and mouth disease, rinderpest and Newcastle in poultry.

(d) Unstable prices 

The prices of both farm inputs and products keep on changing from one season to another. This poses a challenge in the planning for the production as farmers are not certain of the profit or gross maximum to be realised. This creates the problem of risks and uncertainties. A wrong choice of an enterprise may result in farmers getting very little and this discourages them in the following season.

(e) Rainfall distribution 

Rwanda has two main rain seasons. The first one occurs between the months of February and June and the second one between the months of September and December with an average annual rainfall of about 1231 mm (source: Rwanda statistical year book, 2015). Most of this rainfall occurs in the Western and Northwestern parts of Rwanda while the Southeastern and Eastern parts of the country receives relatively low rainfall. These are two dry spells in Rwanda, one between June and September. There is less rainfall and a short one between December and February.

(f) Bad attitude towards agriculture 

Most educated people and especially the youth regard agriculture as a dirty job meant for the illiterate. They prefer the white collar jobs available in urban areas. They do not consider agriculture as a career or take it as a business. The situation is made even 205 worse by the low wages in agricultural sector compared to the industrial sector. This has made agricultural production to remain generally low for a long period of time in Rwanda.

(g) Malnutrition

 Lack of food and proper balanced diet leads to a weak population which cannot provide physical labour to the sector. Lack of necessary labour leads to poor agricultural production.

Lack of market for agricultural goods

 Some farmers are not aware of the existing markets of their products and the prices offered in these markets. They lack important market information and, therefore, end up being exploited by the middlemen. Sometimes farmers produce more than the market demands leading to lack of market for their products. This discourages them from producing more.

(i) Lack of proper storage facilities

 Agricultural goods are seasonal but their demand is distributed throughout the year. They are also highly perishable. A lot of agricultural products go to waste during this stage due to lack of proper storage. Most farmers construct granaries which are very small and inadequate. The crop products are destroyed by storage pests in these structures or get destroyed through rotting due to leaking roofs.

(j) Poor transport facilities

 Farmers lack the means to transport their products to the markets in the urban areas due to the high poverty levels. As a result, farmers sell their products at the farm level. This leads to exploitation by middlemen who will not let the farmers know the true market situation. Some farm products end up going bad altogether in the farm due to lack of proper transport.

7.2 Solutions to problems facing agriculture in Rwanda 

Activity 7.2: A visit to a field day organised by an agricultural institution or agricultural research institute to find out how farmers respond to challenges they face while farming in Rwanda 

Materials required

• Questionnaire 206

 • Note book 

• Pen 

Attend a field day organised by an agricultural research institution and carry out the following activities: Working in groups: 

(i) Participate in the field day activities.

 (ii) Find out from the farmers the problems they face while farming and how they solve them. 

(iii) Record and discuss your findings. 

(iv) Present your findings to the class.

 (v) Take the teacher’s summary notes. 

Various efforts have been made in an attempt to solve the problems facing agriculture and alleviate the economy of Rwanda which is based in Agriculture. Research is also going on to find out solutions to the problems facing Agriculture in Rwanda. 

The following are possible solutions to the problems facing agriculture in Rwanda:

(a) Intensive agriculture

 This problem can be solved through the following:

 (i) Use of intensive farming systems – This is to ensure increased production per unit area. Some of the intensive systems include: 

• Zero grazing – This is the rearing of livestock especially dairy cattle and goats in structures known as zero grazing stalls or units. The structures have provisions for feeding, milking and sleeping. Due to the reduced movements and proper feeding, zero grazed animals produce more milk compared to those on the free grazing. However, the system is labour demanding and require heavy capital investment. 

• Use of green houses – Green houses are structures in which the environmental conditions such as temperature, relative humidity, soil fertility, wind, carbon (IV) oxide concentration of a place are regulated to create a micro-climate where crops which under normal conditions would not grow in a particular area are grown. High value horticultural crops such as tomatoes and cabbages are grown in green houses. The green houses are used to grow crops in off seasons because they do not rely on rainfall, instead the crops are irrigated. Other methods of intensive farming include; irrigation, use of fertilisers and growing high value crops such as vegetables, flowers and fruits.

(ii) Use of improved livestock – These animals are developed by upgrading local animals with the exotic ones through artificial insemination.

(iii) Use of improved seeds – These are high yielding, early maturing consumables. These are developed in research stations.

(iv) Use of modern farming techniques – Modern farming techniques such as spraying crops against diseases and pests, vaccinating livestock against diseases and irrigating crops can enhance the chances of high production and reduce the amount of risk. However, adopting these modern methods involves extra costs.

(v) Improving land tenure systems – It is used to consolidate land and reduce land fragmentation. This increases land sizes under one holding and encourages large-scale farming and mechanisation of farming activities.

(b) Provision of capital 

This problem can be solved through the following ways: 

(i) Forming co-operative societies – Under co-operatives, farmers pool resources together and enjoy economies of scale.

 (ii) Borrowing capital – Borrowed capital is known as credit or loan. Farmers should be able to access capital from commercial banks, co-operatives and other credit giving institutions. The institutions should make borrowing terms easy to the farmer. 

(iii) Government subsidies on farm inputs and outputs – The government can subsidise on farm inputs by reducing tax on agricultural inputs such as fertilisers, seeds and agrochemicals. This will reduce the prices of these farm inputs thus reducing production cost. It can also reduce excess supply by buying farm produce at a high price and then later on selling the produce to recover its money.

(c) Plant protection

 This can be achieved through the following: 

(i) Supplying agrochemicals at prices that farmers can afford. (ii) Planting resistant crop varieties.

 (iii) Providing extension services to farmers either by “visit and train” or organising field days.

(d) Maintaining stability in the commodity

 prices Changes in commodity prices emanates from the market forces of supply and demand and as long as supply and demand keep on changing the prices of commodities will also keep on changing. The solution to the problem of fluctuating commodity prices will have to do with either minimising the effect or regulating supply. This problem can be solved through the following ways:

(i) Contracting – Farmers may enter into contract with consumers to supply certain goods over a specified period of time at an agreed price. Such a contract guarantees them a constant and fixed market for their produce. The only disadvantage is that should the prices rise, the farmers would not benefit.

 (ii) Diversification – The agricultural sector should be diversified by producing various products so that while the prices of some products may be going down, the prices of others may be going up thus neutralising the effect of fluctuations of commodity prices.

 (iii) Operating a buffer stock and stabilisation fund scheme to take care of shortage in production. 

(iv) Signing international agreements on crop production, for example, the International Coffee Agreement to keep prices stable.

(e) Irrigation 

Rwanda happens to have very many fresh water lakes and rivers. The rivers Nyabarongo and Akagera which forms part of the upper Nile drains their waters into Lake Victoria, a fresh water lake. Rusizi River drains the western region of Rwanda. This water can be used for irrigation. Swampy areas in the eastern regions are already being utilised in food production. Other water harvesting methods can be devised to ensure as much water as possible is harvested for agricultural production.

(f) Attitudinal change towards Agriculture 

This can be achieved through: 

(i) Sensitisation of the people of the opportunities existing in agriculture so that they can view agriculture as a business. 

(ii) Improve wages and provision of incentives in the agricultural sector so that they can be at the same level with those in other employment sectors and, therefore, attract more people into the farms.

 (iii) Educating young people in schools on the importance of agriculture to the economy of Rwanda. The introduction of agriculture in the lower secondary education in Rwanda is a step in the right direction. It will go a long way in orientating the youth towards agriculture.

 (g) Construction and maintenance of feeder roads 

The government should ensure that all feeder roads to agricultural productive areas are accessible during the wet season by making them all weather roads.

Searching proper markets 

This can be achieved through: 

(i) Carrying out market research to find out more markets of the agricultural products.

 (ii) Venturing in across the border markets that have been created by the integration of the East Africa countries into the East African Community in which Rwanda is a member.

 (iii) Formation of co-operative societies to sell goods on behalf of the members.

 (iv) Use of the marketing boards to assist farmers market their produce.

 (i) Improving storage facilities 

Through the construction of good and improved storage facilities, farm products can be stored for a long period awaiting good market prices. The stores should be made rodent-free and leak-proof. The crop products stored should be properly dried and dressed with chemicals to keep off storage pests.

 (j) Provision of better transport facilities

 This can be done through the following ways: 

(i) Forming co-operatives to pool resources together to acquire means of transport. 

(ii) Providing credit facilities to individual farmers to enable them acquire means of transport for their produce to the markets. 

(iii) Marketing boards can also provide transport for their respective crop produce grown by farmers.

Group Activity

 Working in groups, carry out the following activities: 

Group I – Find out the meaning of intensive farming. 

Group II – Find out the characteristics of intensive farming. 

Group III – Find out various systems of intensive farming in Rwanda. 

Group IV – Find out the merits and demerits of intensive farming, as a solution to the problems of farming                     in Rwanda. 

(i) Present your findings to the class. 

(ii) Take teacher’s summary notes.

Unit Summary 

The agricultural sector in Rwanda has a lot of challenges and problems. However, these problems are not unique to Rwanda but are common anywhere in the world where agriculture is practised. The difference lies in the way different people or countries respond to the challenges. Some of the problems facing agriculture in Rwanda include:

 • Shortage of land.

 • Lack of capital. 

• Pests and diseases. 

• Unstable prices. 

• Poor rainfall distribution. 

• Bad attitude towards agriculture. 

• Poor road network.

 • Insufficient market for agricultural goods. 

• Lack of proper storage facilities. 

• Poor transport facilities. 

These problems can be solved through various means and approaches. Research is going on to come up with new methods of handling the challenges facing agriculture in Rwanda

Key Terms 

 1. Field day – A day set aside when farmers meet in a demonstration farm and taken through various methods of carrying out agricultural activities by agricultural experts or officers. 

 2. Capital – All man-made assets used in the production of goods and services. 

 3. Animal-drawn implements – These are implements that are pulled by trained animals while working. 4. Extension service – Advice given to farmers by experts. 

 5. Visit and train – Amethod of giving extension servicewhere agricultural officers visit farmers in their farm and advise them on how to carry out agricultural activities. 

 6. Mechanisation – Use of machines in carrying out agricultural activities. 

 7. Intensive farming – System of farming that involves heavy capital investment. 

 8. Seed dressing – Covering or coating of seeds with a pesticide or insecticide to protect from damage by pests and diseases.

9. Pests – Living organisms that cause damage to crops. A parasite is an organism that derives its livelihood from another (a host) causing damage to it. 

10. Supply – Quantity of goods that sellers are willing to sell at a specified price in a given market and time. 

11. Demand – Quantity of goods that consumers are willing and able to buy at a specific price in a given market and time. 

12. Perishable – Easily damaged. 

13. Middlemen – These are traders who move from one farm to another buying agricultural goods from farmers. 

14. Zero grazing – Rearing of livestock in structures known as stalls. 

15. Green houses – These are crop production structures in which high value crops are grown under controlled environmental conditions. 

16. High value crops – Highly perishable crops that fetch high prices when fresh, for example, tomatoes, cabbages, onions and melons. 

17. Land tenure system – System of land ownership. 

18. Large-scale farming – System of farming carried out on a large piece of land which is over 20 hectares. 

19. Hybrid seeds – Seeds developed by crossing two or more pure lines of crops. 

20. Upgrading – The improvement of local animals by crossing with exotic animals for high production. 

21. Co-operative – Organisation of people who have joined together voluntarily with a common purpose for mutual benefit. 

22. Borrowed capital – Credit or loan or borrowed funds. 

23. Buffer stocks – Agricultural produce that are stored only to be released during time of scarcity to offset shortage and stabilise prices of commodities.

 24. Stabilisation fund – A fund set aside by the government to import agricultural commodities in the event of a shortage so as to stabilise the price of the commodity. 

25. Diversification – Allocating resources in more than one enterprise so that should one enterprise fail the farmer benefits from the other. 

26. Enterprise – A single unit of production. 

27. Agrochemicals – Chemicals used in agricultural production such as pesticides, herbicides and insecticides. 

28. Government subsidies – These are government incentives given to farmers to motivate them to produce more and, therefore, prevent the shortage of an agricultural commodity. 

29. Contracting – Entering into an agreement between two parties that is legally binding. 

30. Farm inputs – Capital used in agricultural production, for example, seeds, fertilisers and agrochemicals.

 31. Marketing boards – These are statutory bodies established by an Act of Parliament to oversee the production and marketing of a particular produce.

 32. Gross margins – Profit realised from the sale of produce when the fixed costs are not considered.

Revision Questions

1. State five problems facing agriculture in Rwanda and give one possible solution in each case. 

2. Describe two ways by which farmers can intensify farming. 

3. What is the meaning of the following terms: 

(a) Mechanisation?

 (b) Diversification?

 (c) Zero grazing?

 4. Differentiate between supply and demand as used in agriculture. 

5. (a) What is borrowed capital? 

(b) Give two sources of borrowed capital. 

6. (a) What is government subsidy? 

(b) Give two ways in which government gives subsidy to farmers. 

7. Give two ways in which extension service may be provided to the farmers.

 8. (a) What is an enterprise?

 (b) Give two examples of agricultural enterprises.