Transformation for Smallholder Farmers: Pathways for Agricultural Development in Rwanda

Jolly Dusabe

This thesis asks: “What are the drivers of smallholder agricultural growth in Rwanda?” Since 2000, Rwanda has recorded unprecedented year on year growth in agricultural production, averaging more than 5% per annum. This growth, driven mainly from the food sector, has occurred after decades of stagnation. The government of Rwanda sees agricultural growth as a critical driver for poverty reduction and economic growth. The study examines policy measures adopted by the government of Rwanda in pursuit of this growth, evaluates the mechanisms for implementation, and asks farmers and other stakeholders which interventions were most significant.

Chapter 1 introduces the study and its objectives. Chapter 2 outlines Rwanda’s history in the agricultural sector up to 2000, and describes the policies that were developed after 2000, and the launch of those policies into the field thereafter. It looks at government-led initiatives for land use consolidation, infrastructure and crop intensification, and also at the processes whereby the private sector is brought in to support growth. Chapter 3 reviews literature relevant to the role of the agricultural sector in development, and the processes by which change occurs. Chapter 4 outlines the mixed methods and methodological framing of the study.

The four data chapters (Chapters 5, 6, 7 and 8) paint a detailed picture of policy generation processes and demonstrate how different participants experienced it. In Chapter 5 a survey of farmers shows the direct changes that have occurred in farming and farming practices. Chapter 6, on technology adoption, uses survey data and interviews to draw directly on farmer experience and decision-making. Chapter 7 explores survey data and focus group discussions to show how institutional development at grassroots level played a part in the process of change. Chapter 8 draws on testimony from a range of policymakers, donors, other stakeholders, local leaders and farmers to understand new alliances, partnerships and arrangements that demonstrate benefits of collective action in the process of growth.

Chapter 9 draws conclusions from the study. It shows the extent to which policy institutions and has facilitated technology adoption in Rwanda since 2000, and highlights the new institutional arrangements that have emerged to drive the process of agricultural change for smallholder farmers.