Problems and Solutions of Agriculture in Rwanda
Senior 2 · Agriculture
Problems and Solutions of Agriculture in Rwanda
Lesson 4 of 4
25 min
Let's begin
A farmer with terraced land and water still needs good seed, fertiliser at the right time, the knowledge to use them, the money to pay for them, protection when the weather fails, and a buyer at a fair price. The solutions in this lesson support the farmer rather than the land.
You will learn about improved seed, Rwanda's Crop Intensification Programme, cooperatives, crop insurance and extension services, including the Twigire Muhinzi model. At the end, a table matches every problem in this unit to its solutions.
An improved variety has been bred to give a higher yield, mature earlier, resist a pest or disease, tolerate drought, or be more nutritious. Examples include early-maturing, drought-tolerant maize for the East, cassava varieties that tolerate brown streak and mosaic diseases, and iron-rich beans. In Rwanda, varieties are bred and tested by the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB).
Worked example
is improved seed worth it? (illustrative figures) On 0.5 ha, local maize yields 1.5 tonnes per hectare and improved maize with fertiliser yields 3.0 tonnes per hectare.
The Crop Intensification Programme, launched by the Ministry of Agriculture in 2007, aims to grow more of the priority food crops, such as maize, wheat, rice, Irish potatoes, beans and cassava, on the same land. It combines:
Results: the CIP raised yields, especially of maize, beans and Irish potatoes, and improved the national food supply. Limits: the benefits were uneven. A 2025 AGRA-IFPRI brief notes that almost 19% of households, mostly rural, still faced food insecurity, and that some targets did not match smallholders' limited access to water, farming skills and stable markets.
A cooperative is a business owned and democratically controlled by its members, who pool their resources and share the benefits. Rwanda has farmers' cooperatives for coffee, tea, rice, maize, milk and many other products. A cooperative can:
Other market solutions include better feeder roads, local processing (maize flour, cassava flour, fruit juice), market prices sent by mobile phone, and warehouse receipts: a farmer stores grain in a certified warehouse and receives a receipt that can be sold or used to borrow money.
With crop insurance, the farmer pays a small fee, the premium, before the season. If a disaster named in the policy (such as drought, floods, hail or a disease outbreak) destroys the crop, the insurer pays compensation. Rwanda launched a national agriculture insurance scheme in 2019, in which the government pays part of the premium (40% at launch) for the crops and livestock it covers.
Worked example
(the premium rate is illustrative): a farmer insures a crop worth 500,000 Frw at a premium rate of 6%.
Insurance means one bad season does not ruin the family, the farmer can still repay a loan, and lenders become more willing to lend. Its limits: farmers must understand the policy and pay the premium on time, and claims can be slow.
Agricultural extension carries new knowledge from research to farmers, and carries farmers' problems back to researchers. Rwanda's national model, Twigire Muhinzi (roughly "Farmer, let us rely on ourselves"), was introduced in the mid-2010s and is led by RAB. Government agronomists at sector and district level train volunteer farmers in each village, farmer promoters and farmer field school facilitators, who then teach their neighbours.
Example: controlling fall armyworm through integrated pest management (IPM), which combines several methods and uses pesticides only as a last resort: scout the field every week; crush egg masses and hand-pick caterpillars on small plots; plant early and at the same time as neighbours; keep fields weeded; protect natural enemies such as birds and parasitic wasps; and spray an approved pesticide only when damage passes the level advised by the extension worker, wearing protective clothing.
| Problem | Main solutions |
|---|---|
| Land pressure and fragmentation | Land use consolidation; intensification with improved seed and fertiliser (CIP); jobs outside farming |
| Soil erosion and landslides | Radical and progressive terraces; agroforestry; cut-off drains; trees on very steep land; moving families from high-risk zones |
| Climate variability | Irrigation and water harvesting; drought-tolerant and early varieties; crop insurance; weather advice through extension |
| Pests and diseases | Resistant varieties; clean planting material; integrated pest management; extension and farmer field schools |
| Post-harvest losses | Drying on tarpaulins; hermetic bags and warehouses; processing; cooperatives |
| Credit and markets | Cooperatives and SACCOs; insurance; warehouse receipts; feeder roads; market information |
Tip
Memory hook: the farmer-support solutions are "Seed, Support, Share, Shield, School": improved seed, CIP support, cooperatives that share, insurance that shields, and extension that schools farmers.
Exam technique: a question such as "Suggest solutions to the problem of post-harvest losses" needs solutions to that problem. Terraces or insurance would score nothing there. Use the table above to check that each solution fits its problem.
Why must a farmer buy new hybrid maize seed every season instead of saving seed from the harvest?
Solution: Seed saved from a hybrid crop does not breed true. Its plants are uneven and yield less, so the benefit of the hybrid is lost.
A farmer insures a crop worth 400,000 Frw at an illustrative premium rate of 5%. The government pays 40% of the premium. How much does the farmer pay?
Solution: Premium = 0.05 × 400,000 = 20,000 Frw. Government share = 0.40 × 20,000 = 8,000 Frw. Farmer pays 20,000 − 8,000 = 12,000 Frw.
Give three ways a maize cooperative can raise its members' income.
Solution: Any three: buying seed and fertiliser in bulk at lower prices; drying and storing maize properly to cut post-harvest losses; selling in bulk to processors at better prices; storing until prices rise after harvest; sharing equipment such as threshers; helping members get credit.
Describe how a farmer field school helps farmers adopt new methods.
Solution: A group of farmers meets regularly through a whole season on a shared plot. They grow crops using the new method next to the old one, observe and compare the results themselves, and discuss them. Seeing the difference on a local plot convinces them more than being told, so they copy the method on their own farms.
Suggest one solution to each of: (a) drought in Bugesera; (b) cassava brown streak disease spreading through infected cuttings; (c) maize going mouldy after harvest.
Solution: (a) Irrigation or water harvesting (drought-tolerant varieties or crop insurance are also accepted). (b) Plant clean, certified cuttings of tolerant varieties and uproot infected plants. (c) Dry the maize on tarpaulins, not bare ground, then store it dry in hermetic bags or a warehouse.
Summary
Sources and credits
The Rwandan examples, worked examples and practice questions are written by Ganzaa. The sections on improved seed, insurance, Twigire Muhinzi and integrated pest management are written by Ganzaa. Figures are rounded and were checked against the sources listed here in September 2026; figures marked "illustrative" are examples, not official statistics.
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
