Assessing the value of diverse cropping systems under a new agricultural policy environment in Rwanda

Isaacs, K B and Snapp, S S and Chung, K and Waldman, K B (2016) Assessing the value of diverse cropping systems under a new agricultural policy environment in Rwanda. Food Security, 8 (3). pp. 491-506. ISSN 1876-4517

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Abstract

In Rwanda, farmers’ traditional farming systems based on inter cropping and varietal mixtures are designed to meet a variety of livelihood objectives and withstand risks associated with fluctuation in market and agro-climatic conditions. However, these mixed systems have been disappearing since 2008 when government mandated intensification strategies. In this paper we use a mixed methods approach to evaluate inter cropping and sole cropping systems against farmers’ criteria for success: yield, market value, contribution to nutritional quality, and land-use efficiency. We used qualitative interviews to understand the criteria by which farmers evaluate cropping systems, and data from crop trials to assess common bean ((Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and maize (Zea mays L.)) sole crops and inter crops against those criteria. We found that an improved inter cropping system tends to outperform the government-mandated system of alternating sole-cropped bean and maize season-by-season, on all four of the criteria tested. Although Rwanda’s agricultural intensification strategy aims to improve rural livelihoods through agricultural modernization, it fails to acknowledge the multiple and currently non-replaceable benefits that diverse cropping systems provide, particularly food security and risk management. Agricultural policies need to be based on a better understanding of smallholders’ objectives and constraints. Efforts to improve farming systems require innovative and inclusive approaches that enable adaptation to the socio-ecological context.

Item Type:	Article
Divisions:	RP-Grain Legumes
CRP:	CGIAR Research Program on Grain Legumes
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Agriculture, Nutrition, Agrobiodiversity, Intercrop, Resilience, Traditional knowledge, Food security, Cropping systems, Rwanda
Subjects:	Others > Agriculture-Farming, Production, Technology, Economics Others > Climate Change
Depositing User:	Mr Ramesh K
Date Deposited:	31 May 2016 08:56
Last Modified:	09 Feb 2017 04:39
URI:	http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/9537
Official URL:	http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12571-016-0582-x
Projects:	UNSPECIFIED
Funders:	UNSPECIFIED
Acknowledgement:	We wish to acknowledge Rwanda Agriculture Board (RAB) and Rural Northern Development (DERN) for providing assistance and staff resources in this study. We are grateful to Louis Butare (RAB) for administrative and field assistance and Edouard Murwanashyaka (RAB) and especially Faustin Nshimiyimana (DERN) for providing technical field assistance at the research stations and with data collection. Research was supported by funds from a Fulbright-Hayes Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Dry Grain Pulses Collaborative Research Support Program (Cooperative Agreement EDH-A-00-07-00005-00). The content is solely the responsibility of the author(s) and does not necessarily represent the official views of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Links:	Google Scholar

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