Land use consolidation and poverty reduction in Rwanda
Musahara, Herman et al.
The Land Use Consolidation (LUC) programme was initiated in 2008 as part of a broader Crop Intensification Programme in Rwanda launched earlier in 2007. Not much analysis has been done on its socio economic impacts on households in Rwanda. Official assessment by the government indicates considerable gains in yield of the select crops. The yield of maize has gone up by more than 5 times in five years,3 times for beans and cassava,2 times wheat and 30 per cent for rice. These are macro level indicators that have suggested food security in the whole country and by implication reduction in poverty. However not much is known on the impact to household living conditions in general. The paper uses returns from heads of households to look into the aspects of LUC that can provide insights into poverty reduction. The research for this paper was funded by USAID through the LAND Project in Rwanda. The paper is derived from a data set that was not directed to poverty reduction but whose outputs provide indicators of impact on socio economic conditions that reflect reduction in poverty. The research aims to assess the impacts of the programme and is being implemented by the University of Rwanda. Using a sample of 742 households carefully selected from all agro ecological zones of Rwanda and using both qualitative and quantitative tools, the paper answers a number of questions that may provide lessons to how a national land and agriculture based programme affects livelihoods and how it can be used to reduce poverty. How the Land Use Consolidation evolved in Rwanda and how is it different from or similar to land consolidation schemes practiced elsewhere? Has it translated into better conditions to households? Is the increase in yield implying food security and thus poverty reduction in general? Which are the drivers of increased yield which has made LUC a programme that is potentially capable of reducing poverty? How conclusive is it that LUC has reduced poverty in Rwanda in the last 5 years of its existence?
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