Agriculture and Food Security in Gicumbi District, Northern Province of Rwanda

Abstract

This study presents a micro-analysis of agriculture and food security in Gicumbi District in Rwanda using
secondary data from National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda, Ministry of Agriculture and district’s
reports. Data were analysed using SPSS and MS Excel. Findings indicated that environmental
characteristics favour agricultural activities in this district. Land is highly fragmented with 44% of the
population owning plots of less than 0.3ha. Most of the population (78%) own livestock mainly cows.
Main crops include Irish potato, beans, banana, and maize whereas the production of wheat and sorghum
was seen to have declined. The share of vegetables and fruits is small with 0.4% and 1% respectively.
Additionally, the proportion of households using agricultural inputs is still low where 11% used organic
manure, 16.5% applied chemical fertilizers, 27% used pesticides and 35% used improved seeds. Further,
results indicated that, within a household, most of adult people (82%) take meals twice a day while it is
thrice a week for a half of children (50%) and 58.3% of them had to rely on less preferred food in case of
inability to get enough food. Dietary needs are not met as food composition is unbalanced and largely
composed of food energy, moderately with proteins and poorly with lipids. This resulted in reduced status
of health and nutrition: anemic women (17%), anemic under-five children (37%), and stunted and
malnourished under-five children (47%). Findings suggest necessary programs on increasing the use of
agricultural inputs. It informs intervention aimed at improving on intakes of food like meat, dairy
products, legumes, vegetables and fruits in Gicumbi District.