Non-farm income and food security lessons from Rwanda

Abstract

The paper first provides a brief overview of the nature of nonagricultural employment sources in Rwanda: what are people currently doing? Secondly, it explores some of the characteristics of these enterprises, particularly the small nonfarm enterprises in rural areas, examining the prospects that they can help create new income-earning opportunities for rural farm households. Third, the paper reviews the policy context in which these enterprises operate, to determine the extent to which the policy environment currently hinders the growth of employment among these enterprises and to suggest areas needing change in this regard. The paper ends with a brief discussion of needed modifications in research design in the analysis of rural nonfarm enterprises to make this research more responsive to the needs of analysts in the area of food security.