Helping farmers harvest hope for the future in Rwanda
WFP’s zero hunger communities project has helped poor people in the most food insecure areas
“Due to constant food insecurity, I had decided to move from my ancestral home and look for a new place to settle down with my five children,” said Innocent Bizimana. “I had reached a point where I was no longer able to harvest any crops due to the low fertility of my soil and the effects of soil erosion. Anything I tried to plant in my garden was washed away by rain water, and I could not afford to pay for any input fertilizers.”
Since 2012, WFP’s Zero Hunger Communities Project (SZHC) has helped over 100,000 economically-disadvantaged individuals in Rwanda like Innocent to to manage their land better and diversify their crops, helping raise their incomes and improve their livelihoods. By empowering these farmers, WFP is assisting farming communities to achieve increased food security for many years to come.
“Today I am happy because I did not have to relocate my family thanks to this project that started in my village,” said Innocent. “After constructing terraces on my land, my cultivable land increased by almost 90 percent. It was amazing. WFP gave me the freedom to choose which crops I would prefer to plant on my newly terraced land. I chose potatoes because they grow well where I live.”
WFP distributed high-bred potato seeds rich in vitamin A and Innocent was able to harvest an impressive six metric tons. He is a happy man; not only does his family have enough food to eat, but he has been able to sell the surplus in the market.
Thanks to funding from the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), WFP developed over 600 hectares of terraces on hillslopes, rehabilitated over 130 hectares of marshland, and distributed small livestock such as goats and pigs. People like Innocent, who live in Rwanda’s most food-insecure districts, are now able to produce enough food for their families while also selling their harvested surplus to earn additional income.
The SZHC project aims to improve food security, reduce poverty levels among vulnerable populations, and increase living standards by improving access to livelihood assets. Through cash for work, beneficiaries are hired to rehabilitate roads, construct terraces, and develop marshlands. WFP also focuses on improving the capacity of smallholder farmers through training centered on improving food storage and reducing food loss resulting from pests and poor post-harvest handling methods. Farmers alter their planting patterns on the rehabilitated and reconstructed terraces every season, rotating between maize, beans and vegetables.
Francoise Ingabire is a member of a farmer cooperative in the Cyogo marshland in Nyamagabe District. In 2018, smallholder farmers are expecting to harvest over 226 MT of maize worth a value of 30 million francs (US$ 39,000) compared to the 190 MT harvested last year.
“I’m very happy!” says Francoise. “I now have food at home and am still able to sell the surplus I have left to the market.”
