Rwanda

Overview

In Rwanda, Africa's most densely populated country, life expectancy is less than 46 years. Two thirds of the population is under 24, and almost three quarters lives on less than US$1.25/day. A country with limited natural resources, Rwanda ranks 166 out of 187 countries on the United Nations Development Programme's 2011 human development index. Yet the country is making considerable progress in many areas.

Rwanda has made remarkable strides in recovering from the 1994 genocide, bringing some of the perpetrators to justice and physically reconstructing. Now stable, the Government of Rwanda has integrated the Millennium Development Goals into its national development framework and is on track to achieve universal primary education and gender equality. More than half of Rwanda's parliamentarians―56 percent―are women.

Rwanda plays an important role in peace and stability in the Great Lakes region and is a principal contributor to the African Union/UN Hybrid operation in Darfur (UNAMID). In order to expand economic opportunities, it joined the East African Community in 2007 and the Commonwealth in 2010.

The country's economic growth rate since 2000 has been among the highest in Africa, but the benefits of this growth have bypassed the rural areas, where poverty is concentrated and most people depend on agriculture for subsistence. Although the country is largely self-sufficient in food production, infrastructure in the sector is inadequate, resulting in agricultural production being much lower than its potential and one quarter of the population being food insecure. Rapid population growth is contributing to the unsustainable use of resources, and underemployment is increasing.

Thematic Focus

CIDA's programming in Rwanda is closely aligned with the country's 2006 aid policy, (PDF, 862 KB, 19 pages) which promotes program-based approaches, and its Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy 2008-2012, (PDF, 3 MB, 166 pages) which aims to increase economic growth by increasing agricultural growth, slowing population growth, tackling extreme poverty, and ensuring greater efficiency in poverty reduction.

The goal of CIDA's program in Rwanda is to help the country increase food security by improving agricultural productivity. This will be done by supporting the development of rural infrastructure and improving management of land and water resources.

Food security

CIDA continues to work closely with the Rwandan Ministry of Agriculture and other partners to implement the country's national agriculture strategy, which is to shift from subsistence agriculture to market-based activities. CIDA's focus on rural infrastructure and management of land and water resources will help:

• Connect farmers to markets through better roads
• Counter soil erosion
• Improve irrigation for year-round productivity
• Develop marshland for better crop yields

This will increase agricultural production and incomes for poor rural women and men and strengthen the capacity of local governments to create and manage development plans. Local government and civil society officials will be trained in participatory and financial planning, public tendering, and equality between women and men.

Progress on Aid Effectiveness

Rwanda adheres to the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, (PDF, 317 KB, 23 pages) and has taken steps to integrate its principles into the country's relationships with donor countries and multilateral agencies.

Accomplishments 2009-2010

Food security

• Helped develop 275 hectares of marshland and 658 hectares of terraces for productive use and reforest 8,380 hectares, benefiting more than 5,000 farm households and contributing to job creation, a diversified local economy and increased agricultural production
• Helped improve or construct 325 km of rural roads with anti-erosion ditches
• Established and strengthened about 200 small and medium-sized private sector enterprises and rural organizations of farmers, fishermen and women
• Trained 15,000 people in road rehabilitation, terracing, agro-forestry, agriculture and fishing
• Created more than 4.8 million days of paid work for local people, more than half of whom are women

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