Publication Details

A green revolution for rural Rwanda

reconciling production growth with small-scale risk management

An Ansoms
Ann Verdoodt
Eric Van Ranst
2010

Abstract

The Rwandan government has recently adopted new agricultural and land policies that strive to increase productivity in the agricultural sector through land consolidation and concentration, and through crop intensification. These policies have been identified in line with Rwandan policy makers’ ‘Green Revolution’ ambition to transform the agrarian sector into a professionalized motor for economic growth and pro-poor rural development. The first part of this paper, however, identifies an inverse relationship between farm size and productivity; and proves that risk-averse production techniques such as farm fragmentation and multicropping are not necessarily counterproductive to maximizing farmers’ production output. A second part considers how peasants themselves value the (potential) impact of land consolidation and government-led crop intensification upon their livelihoods. In its conclusion, the paper reflects upon the crucial dilemmas for policy makers in the materialization of the Green Revolution in Rwanda specifically, and in Sub-Saharan Africa more broadly.

Publication Type(s)

Conference Paper

Ten Years of War Against Poverty Conference Papers

Conference: Ten Years of War Against Poverty

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