Herding cattle, Rwanda © Heidi Martin

Poverty reduction in Rwanda is constrained by the profiles of its population and agriculture. The density of 328 people per square kilometre is the highest in Africa, the pressure on land growing constantly through a high population growth rate of over 3% pa. Over 80% of the population is engaged in subsistence agriculture working on farms of average size less than one hectare. Yields are depressed by major soil erosion, inadequate irrigation and limited access to credit for farm inputs. A landlocked country with poor roads limits potential for cash crops and there is virtually no electricity in rural areas.

This pattern of production inevitably leaves the country dependent to a degree on imported foodstuffs and it is no surprise that Rwanda features on the list of 22 countries named by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as “particularly vulnerable” to the 2008 crisis of rising food prices. Over 20% of young children are already underweight, a figure that has barely improved since 2000. For the longer term, the government’s strategic Vision 2020 envisages that the proportion of the population dependent on agriculture should fall to 50%, somewhat unconvincingly proposing a move towards cooperative farming alongside development of new sectors of economic activity.

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