Salinity Reducing Food Security and Financial Returns from Rice Production in Rwanda

Rice is a crucial food crop and source of income for smallholder farmers in Rwanda. Its annual consumption in 2012 was estimated at about 104,000 tons with about 48,000 tons of this covered from imports. In recognition of the great potential of rice in improving food security and household incomes, the government of Rwanda and donors have invested over US$10 Million to improve rice production. The average rice yield is estimated at 5 tons/ha but the government rice policy is targeting 7 tons/ha through improved seeds and better agronomy. Most of rice production is done in the marshland. Patches of some crucial marshlands have started exhibiting stunted rice growth, yellowing and low crop yields of less than 3 tons/ha irrespective of use of the right seeds and good agronomy, hence threatening the rice improvement targets. Recently, we evaluated one of the marshlands (Muvumba marshland) to understand the causes for such yield decline. The marshland was demarcated into affected and non-affected patches. The visual and lab analysis of soil and water from affected patches linked declining rice yields to salinity suggesting gradual development of salinity in Muvumba marshland. This paper uses Muvumba data to discuss salinity, the indicators, potential impact of salinity on returns to rice production. Salinity decreased rice yields by about 30$ 1,500 per hectare of affected patches in Muvumba. We recommend remediation of salinity through improved drainage and better fertilizer management. In case these measures do not work, salt tolerant rice species should be adopted for these sites

Tree-Based Ecosystem Approaches (TBEAs) as Multi-Functional Land Management Strategies—Evidence from Rwanda

Densely populated rural areas in the East African Highlands have faced significant intensification challenges under extreme population pressure on their land and ecosystems. Sustainable agricultural intensification, in the context of increasing cropping intensities, is a prerequisite for deliberate land management strategies that deliver multiple ecosystem goods (food, energy, income sources, etc.) and services (especially improving soil conditions) on the same land, as well as system resilience, if adopted at scale. Tree based ecosystem approaches (TBEAs) are among such multi-functional land management strategies. Knowledge on the multi-functionality of TBEAs and on their scaling up, however, remains severely limited due to several methodological challenges. This study aims at offering an analytical perspective to view multi-functional TBEAs as an integral part of sustainable agricultural intensification. The study proposes a conceptual framework to guide the analysis of socio-economic data and applies it to cross-site analysis of TBEAs in extremely densely populated Rwanda. Heterogeneous TBEAs were identified across Rwanda’s different agro-ecological zones to meet locally-specific smallholders’ needs for a set of ecosystem goods and services on the same land. The sustained adoption of TBEAs would be guaranteed if farmers subjectively recognize their compatibility and synergy with sustainable intensification of existing farming systems, supported by favorable institutional conditions