| East and South Africa |
| Smallholder Market oriented Agriculture Project,
Republic of Rwanda
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| (2014－on going) |
The Republic of Rwanda has the highest population density of 380 persons/ km2 in the sub-Sahara African countries, in which farmers are engaged in small-scale farming with the average of 0.76ha farm per household. In addition, 80% of farmlands are 5 to 55 degrees slanted. In the hilly area, low productivity and profitability are predominant due to limited irrigation water, dependency on rainfall, and ineffective farming systems. In lowland, on the other hand, where accessibility to irrigation water is relatively better compared with hilly areas, paddy farming has been practiced and has higher potential to increase productivity, if proper farming techniques and water management are introduced.
Former project “The Project for Increasing Crop Production with Quality Extension Services in the Eastern Province of the Republic of Rwanda, Republic of Rwanda (2010 - 2013) *1“ aimed at increasing crop production of rice and benefit horticulture cooperatives in the Bugesera District and Ngoma District in the Eastern Province of Rwanda. Considering the conditions of agriculture in Rwanda and the Project area, it was needed to improve farming techniques on the field through developing capacities of farmers, agricultural extension officers and other organizations.
In order to extend the result of the above-mentioned project in all over the Republic of Rwanda, this project aim to change farmer’s behavior from “grow and sell” to “grow to sell” in corporation with Government of Rwanda and Agricultural Cooperative based on SHEP (Smallholder Horticulture Empowerment and Promotion) approach. |
*1: Refer to “The Project for Increasing Crop Production with Quality Extension Services in the Eastern Province of the Republic of Rwanda, Republic of Rwanda”
http://sanyu.tcp.jp/english/works/world/detail/04africa_es22.html
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| In technical training of horticulture, the project applies the approach, called “Starting with marketing and ending with marketing”. The target farmers conduct the market survey by themselves before their cultivation in order to identify the demanded crops in the market. |
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| The cultivation technology training is conducted in the demonstration and training farm which is established in the target cooperative. After the training, participant farmers are expected to be trainers to teach learned knowledge and skill to the other farmers in the cooperative. |
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