Rwandan Farmers: Building a Future of Hope

Rwandan Farmers: Building a Future of Hope
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After the drama of missing my flight and exchanging calm and collected

at the ticket desk for sophisticated meltdown, (quick glance left and

right to make sure no one is looking), I arrived in Rwanda just after

midnight.

This week I am in the East African country finding out how soaring

global food prices and climate change are having an impact on rural

communities ahead of World Food Day on 16 October.

No matter how many times I travel to Africa, the beauty of the

dramatic mountains and lush green valleys never cease to amaze me.

Rwanda is stunning, and is known as the land of a thousand hills, and

as we do the two hour drive to the projects we are visiting it's easy

to see why.

What is more difficult to understand, is how a country with such green

fertile land, can also still have some big challenges when it comes to

feeding its people.

Sixty per-cent of the population live below the poverty line. Eighty

per cent are engaged in subsistence farming, growing food for just you

and your family to eat. So, poverty in Rwanda is closely correlated

with farm productivity.

The most serious risk of hunger is related to people who own farms and

fail to diversify from the staple crops, such as kidney beans and

sweet potatoes. The problem is made worse when harvests fail due to

poor weather conditions, forcing farmers into a hunger gap. This is

something that aid agency Tearfund is working with communities to

address, through its local partner, Moucecore.

I met an amazingly inspirational man called Jean, who was a genocide

survivor and lost everything he had. Today, after being taught organic

farming techniques and learning the importance of farming different

types of weather resistant crops, he is able to feed his family. He

also sells the produce that he grows on his farm. "Three years ago my

life was not good, but now business people come to my home to buy my

beans." He tells us in a proud but gracious way.

I could have listened to him all day - and was suddenly glad that I

had kicked up a fuss at Heathrow to get on another flight the same

day. Initially ticket desk man had said I would have to fly out two

days later. Gosh to think I wouldn't have met Jean...

I heard many stories like his as we walked through the villages and

talked to people. It was great to hear positive stories about food

starting to come out of Africa. Rwanda has along way to go, as I have

said there are big challenges ahead; later this week we will meet

communities that haven't had access to the support that Jean has.

That said, after the pain of genocide this country has made remarkable

progress. It is tipped to be the first African country to achieve

Millennium Development Goal One, which is to eradicate extreme

poverty. With young men and women as focused and determined as Jean, I

can't see why this wouldn't be achieved.