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By Annonciata Byukusenge
Valentine Mukeshimana wakes up at five in the morning every day. Her main activity is irrigating crops in the 5-hectare farm at Nyabuyogera swamp in Shyanda, a remote rural village in Gisagara district in Southern Rwanda.
The 37-year-old mother never envisioned that her efforts in the farmlands would pave the way for women workers in her remote village to pursue prosperous lives.
“Women are now playing a vital role in agriculture, contributing to current national efforts towards improving food security and ending malnutrition,” she said.
The latest data shows that in Rwanda, women, especially from rural areas, form the backbone of the agricultural labor force.
According to the Fifth Rwanda Population and Housing Census, conducted in 2022 by the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) they are currently 77 percent of females are engaged in agricultural activities compared to 58 percent of males.
Mukeshimana and the other 691, including 526 women and 165 men, formed two cooperatives named Inkingi z’iterambere and Twitezimbere. Those farmers farm on 10 ha in the Nyabuyogera swamp.
Nyabuyogera farmers have a problem with the irrigation system because they use a traditional system.
“We have a serious problem accessing the tools we need for irrigating our crops. We rely on traditional methods using jerry cans, basins, and watering cans. This requires a lot of physical effort, consumes a lot of time, and leaves us exhausted,” she said.
She added that if they had access to modern irrigation systems, their crop production would increase, and the time spent irrigating traditionally could be used for other productive activities that help improve their livelihoods.
This issue of lacking modern irrigation systems is about to become a history for farmers in the Nyabuyogera swamp, because the Rwanda Rural Rehabilitation Initiative (RWARRI) has launched a program to provide irrigation infrastructure for these farmers.
Belange Uwizeye, the Director of RWARRI, said that their mandate is to help women. They are going to support those women farmers, because traditional irrigation methods are physically demanding.
“As part of our mission to empower rural women, we are going to provide solar-powered irrigation equipment to the women farming in Nyabuyogera swamp,” he said.
He added that this is a sustainable solution, as it will increase production and allow farmers to farm throughout all seasons (A, B, C).
“Climate change will no longer be an obstacle for these farmers because they will be able to farm and harvest in every season. Previously, the dry season limited them to just two growing cycles per year. With irrigation, they’ll be able to farm even during the dry season and still achieve good harvests,” Uwizeye added.
Théoneste Sabagirirwa, another farmer in the Nyabuyogera swamp, said that they used to admire farmers in other areas who used solar-powered irrigation systems and dreamed of reaching that level of development.
“We’re finally going to be relieved from the exhaustion of traditional irrigation methods, which require a lot of energy. It was especially hard for pregnant and breastfeeding women, since irrigating while carrying a child or using heavy containers was extremely difficult. With modern irrigation, our production will increase, and the time we used to spend irrigating can now be used for other activities that help us progress,” he said.
Chantal Uwimana, an officer at the Rwanda Agriculture Board (RAB) in charge of irrigation services, said that the traditional irrigation methods used by farmers can also spread plant diseases.
“A farmer using a watering can does it properly, but one using a basin exposes the plants to danger, as the water touches the leaves and can splash onto nearby plants. If one plant is diseased, it’s easy to spread it to others. However, with a watering can, the water goes directly to the roots, which supports healthy crop growth,” she explained.
Gisagara District has an irrigated area of 1460 hectares.
Hillside irrigation in Rwanda
With irrigation, farmers are able to have continuous crops and multiply production and income. Assessments of Rwanda irrigation potential indicates that the country has a national irrigation potential of nearly 600.000 ha, taking into consideration the following domains.
• Runoff for small reservoirs (125- 627 ha)
• Runoff for dams (31,204 ha)
• Direct river and flood water (80,974 ha)
• Lake water resources (100 153 ha)
• Groundwater resources (36,434 ha)
• Marshlands (222 418 ha)
According to NST2, the target of irrigation by 2029 is 120.000 ha.
Rwanda is actively working to increase the amount of land under irrigation to improve agricultural productivity and reduce reliance on rainfall. The country has a significant potential for irrigation, with assessments indicating nearly 600,000 hectares could be irrigated. While only about 10% of irrigable land is currently irrigated, the government is investing in both large and small-scale irrigation schemes.
The Rwanda Rural Rehabilitation Initiative (RWARRI), in partnership with the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion (MIGEPROF) through a memorandum of understanding signed on April 30, 2024, and with support from the World Food Programme (WFP) as part of the Joint Programme on Rural Women’s Economic Empowerment (JP RWEE), alongside the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and UN Women. RWARRI, in collaboration with MIGEPROF, is implementing the JP RWEE from November 1, 2024, to August 31, 2027.
