Selected research findings from rwanda that inform policy themes in Southern Africa

Abstract

Section I of this paper reviews recent events in Rwanda. In section II we identify principal research findings from Rwanda with the objective of helping inform five important food security themes in Southern Africa. Food and agricultural policy foci in Rwanda Rwanda faces tremendous challenges in its food and agricultural sectors. The landlocked country is struggling against high population density (the country is 90% rural) and poor links with seaports to improve the performance of its economy. The Government of Rwanda’s (GOR) main objectives in the agricultural sector have been to increase food self-sufficiency and rural incomes. In the past, the GOR’s means of achieving these goals have been relatively successful. The country has focused on cropping previously unused land, maintaining soil fertility, improving some crop varieties, and trying to stabilize bean and sorghum prices. They also have tried to modestly increase prices paid to farmers for selected food crops while maintaining a buffer stock to attenuate consumer price increases when food supplies contract.