"We are all poor in different ways:"
A Rapid Assessment of Livelihood Strategies
and Food Insecurity in Twelve Communities of Rwanda
Elizabeth Adelski, TANGO Consultant
Kigali, Rwanda
7 September 2001
iii
iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This report is the result of many people's work--from rural Rwanda to Kigali, Rome, and Tucson. All of us who participated in the field work owe our first thanks to the people in the rural communities and districts whose ready cooperation and explanations taught us about their lives. We hope that this report will be of some benefit to them.
I thank all the staff of WFP-Rwanda for their support with this project. Director Mustapha Darboe and Josephine Mahiga-Janabi provided essential assistance, particularly in getting the work started, and David Stevenson gave us much-appreciated support in organizing and completing the report. Robin Wheeler put alot of energy into helping us distinguish the forest from the trees and pulling together our conclusions; thank you. Jean-Baptiste Nkusi and Ayuub Kasasa of the VAM Unit have my thanks for their hard work and humor throughout the project. My thanks to Amiable and his staff for taking care of the ever-present transportation needs, the accounting department for their efficiency and patience, and all my other colleagues for their help in the office and interesting conversations over lunch.
All of the survey field staff deserve a big thank you for their month's work on this project. I appreciate their patience and effort throughout the survey's different stages, and the interest they expressed in the field work. My team-mates were great to work with: thanks for organizing our work, taking care of your team leader, and daily doses of humor.
I thank my colleagues in WFP/VAM-Rome and TANGO in Tucson for resolving the theoretical and practical issues that arose during the consultancy, and for seeing the work through.
Murakoze Cyane!
iii
iii
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
WFP-Rwanda organized the work reported here in order to identify the geographical areas that are vulnerable to food insecurity, to identify vulnerable social groups, and to document their socioeconomic characteristics. A major purpose of the study is to inform the Country Programme (CP) in order to improve sectoral and geographic targeting. In a broader context, the work also provides some baseline and sectoral information to help create a database for the geographic and social mapping of food insecurity in Rwanda. This database will be useful for the WFP-Rwanda/VAM unit and potentially can contribute to the government's disaster mitigation and relief efforts.
A provisional map of the vulnerable communes in Rwanda was drafted in a workshop of experts with general knowledge of the country, as the basis for organizing the survey. The workshop participants identified twelve extremely vulnerable and twenty highly vulnerable communes in eight provinces. The survey was conducted in twelve communes: four of the former and eight of the latter. The overall purpose of the primary data collection was to refine the workshop map and to increase WFP-Rwanda's understanding of the dynamics of food insecurity in different vulnerable populations. Increasing in-house capacity to conduct future surveys was a second purpose of the work.
The survey's primary objective was to answer these four key questions:
Where are the vulnerable populations?
The workshop identified three levels of vulnerability to food insecurity in Rwanda: extreme, high, and areas to be monitored. The extremely vulnerable areas are twelve communes in Butare and Gikongoro provinces. The highly vulnerable areas are four communes in the Bugesera ecozone and sixteen communes in the provinces of Gikongoro, Butare, Kibuye, Gisenyi, and Ruhengeri. The maps that follow the Introduction to the report show these vulnerable areas. The food security advisors also identified areas that are prone to food insecurity and should be monitored. These include the eastern province of Umutara, the eastern corridor bordering Bugesera, the drought corridor along Rwanda's southern border, and seventeen communes in six provinces. All of the provinces and communes that are vulnerable to food insecurity or need to be monitored are shown in the table below.
The household livelihood and food-security survey provided community-level data from some extremely and highly vulnerable areas identified in the workshop. The primary data confirm the vulnerability of the areas, and are the basis for greater understanding of the local-level dynamics of food insecurity in vulnerable populations.
Who is vulnerable to food insecurity?
These people and their households:
· Women household heads: widows, women with husbands in prison, the divorced and abandoned.
· The land-poor, including the landless and those with poor-quality soils.
· Orphans and child household heads.
· Households with chronically ill members
vii
1
· The destitute: the elderly, the physically and psychologically handicapped, and the extremely poor.
· The people resettled in government resettlements (imidugudus), who were identified as a vulnerable group only in Kanzenze district in Bugesera.
· People affected by the 1997-98 and later insecurity, who were identified only in Bukonya district in Ruhengeri.
Why are these social groups vulnerable?
All of these social groups are caught in a vicious cycle that makes them vulnerable to food insecurity, although each group has some particular characteristics that trap them in the cycle. They are all poor and do not have the essential agricultural resources that an agricultural population needs, including sufficient, fertile land; livestock for manure and as a source of money in emergencies; ready access to markets, agricultural inputs, and extension services. As a result their agricultural production and marketable surpluses are limited, so their food stocks and income are limited. Low incomes prevent them from accumulating livestock that are necessary to provide manure for Rwanda's generally poor and over-used soils. These groups generally do not have nonagricultural skills and the economic alternatives to agriculture are nil in rural Rwanda. Wage labor becomes virtually the only option to compensate for poor production, but opportunities are limited in rural areas because most of the population cannot afford to hire labor. The net result for these social groups is food insecurity, which contributes to poor health, and lack of income for basic needs such as medical care, education, housing, and food purchases. People with small or no landholdings, or with poor-quality soils, are caught in this vicious cycle. Those in the northwest also are, because they have lost their assets, including the livestock that are essential for agricultural production, and are in the process of rebuilding their lives.
Lack of household labor and high dependency ratios are the major factors that make women household heads and their families vulnerable to food insecurity. Women with imprisoned husbands expend valuable time and energy providing food for their husbands and therefore have less work-time to support the rest of their households. Traditional culture that limits women's access to and control of resources also contributes to their poverty and food insecurity. Households with chronically ill members ultimately lose labor and incur increasing expenses to care for the invalid, in a cycle similar to that of single women's households. Orphans and child household-heads face similar constraints: they lack the resources, physical strength, and skills for farming, and do not have alternative sources of income. The elderly and handicapped generally have no resources except their land, cannot work, and do not have family support. The people resettled in imidugudus are vulnerable because they generally lost their assets in the war and have been resettled in communities where they are far from their fields, cannot keep livestock, and lack services. They expend time and energy walking to their fields and their isolated crops are damaged by livestock and thieves.
What can be done?
· School feeding programs , as children's abandonment of school due to hunger was reported as a problem virtually everywhere.
· Cash-for-work and food-for-work, to simultaneous provide resources, improve natural resource management, and rehabilitate local infrastructure.
vii
1
· Purchase local producers' commodities when available and them for SFP or FFW. This would support the formation of associations that are necessary to access credit, inputs, and technical assistance.
· Food-for-training, for orphans, the handicapped, and the chronically ill, to teach them nonagricultural skills as a source of revenue for those with limited physical capacity to work. Food-for-training also could work with local partners to provide training related to agricultural and livestock production for producers, including women.
vii
1
List of the Vulnerable Communes in Rwanda, by Province
(source: Food Security Advisors Workshop)
Province / Commune/sExtremely Vulnerable Areas
Butare / Nyakizu, Gishamvu, Huye, Runyinya, Maraba, Rusatira, Ruhashya, Mbazi
Gikongoro / Karambo, Rukondo, Karama, Kinyamakara, Mubuga
Highly Vulnerable Areas
Butare / Kigenbe
Gikongoro / Rwaniko, Nyamagabe
Gisenyi / Kibilira, Ramba, Giciye, Gaseke, Satinsyi
Kigali-rural / Ngenda, Gashoro, Kanzenze (Bugesera ecozone)
Ruhengeri / Ruhondo, Gatonde, Ndusu, Cyabingo
Kibuye / Bwakira, Mwendo, Gitesi, Gisoku
Kibungo / Sake
Gitarama / Kayenzi
Areas to be Monitored
Butare / Muyira, Ntyazo, Muyaga
Gisenyi / Kanama, Kayove, Mutura
Kigali-rural / Musasa, Mugambazi, Gikoro, Tare, Mbogo
Ruhengeri / Nyarutovu
Kibungo / Nyarubuye commune and the drought corridor along the southern border
Gitarama / Kyakabanda, Nyabikenke, Masango, Bulinga
Umutara / Karangari, Gabiro, Kahi, Bugaragara, Gebiro, Rwisirabo
Cyangugu / Karengera, Kirambo, Gatare
vii
1
ACRONYMS
CO Country Office
CSO Country Strategy Outline
DRSA Regional Headquarters of the Agricultural Services
EU European Union
FAO Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations
FEWSNET Famine Early Warning System Network
FEZ Food economy zone
FFC Food-for-cash
FFW Food-for-work
FSRP Farming Systems Research Project
HH Household
HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency
syndrome
HLS Household Livelihood Security
MEDIRESA Regional Medical Officer
MICS Multiple Indicators Survey
MINAGRI Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Resources, and Forestry
MINISANTE Minister of Health
MT Metric tons
NGO Non-governmental organization
PASAR Rwanda Food-Security Assistance Project
TANGO Technical Assistance to NGOs International
USA United States of America
USAID United States Agency for International Development
VAM Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping
WFP World Food Program of the United Nations
WV World Vision
vii
1
TABLE of CONTENTS
Section Page
I. Introduction 1
A. Background and Objectives of the Survey 1
B. Organization of the Report 1
Map 1., Levels of Vulnerability to Food Insecurity in Rwanda 2
Map 2., Household Livelihood Survey Sites 3
Graph 1., Altitude and Food Crops 4
II. Conclusions and Recommendations 5
A. Vulnerability to Food Insecurity: who, where, why, and what can 5
be done?
1. Who is vulnerable 5
2. Where the vulnerable groups are 6
3. Why the groups are vulnerable 7
4. What can be done for the vulnerable groups: potential interventions 9
B. Recommendations for Further Surveys 12
III. Methodology 16
A. Background: Mapping Vulnerability to Food Insecurity 16
B. The Survey Sample 17
C. The Field Teams and Data Collection 18
D. Definitions 19
E. Tables 20
IV. A Brief Overview of Rwanda 24
A. Agro-Ecological Zones 24
B. The Population and Economy 24
C. Trends in Agricultural Production and Food Security 25
V. Characterization of the Food-Insecure Zones Surveyed 29
A. Butare and Gikongoro: Extremely Vulnerable to Food Insecurity 29
1. Vulnerability: where, who, why, and what can be done 29 2. Gikongoro Province: Background 30
3. Butare Province: Background 30
4. Summary of the District-level Information 32
1) Vulnerable social groups 32
2) Vulnerable sectors 32
5. The Social Groups' Economic Resources, Intangible 34
Resources, and Livelihood Strategies
6. The Food Supply: Sources, Seasonality, and Coping 37
Strategies for Insufficiency
7. Problems, Coping Strategies, and Potential Interventions 40
vii
1
TABLE of CONTENTS, continued
Section Page
V. Characterization of the Food-Insecure Zones Surveyed, continued
B. Bugesera: Highly Vulnerable to Food Insecurity 45
1. Vulnerability: where, who, why, and what can be done 45
2. Bugesera: Background 46
3. Summary of the District-level Information 47
1) Vulnerable social groups 47
2) Vulnerable sectors 47
4. The Social Groups' Economic Resources, Intangible 48
Resources, and Livelihood Strategies
5. The Food Supply: Sources, Seasonality, and Coping 50
Strategies for Insufficiency
6. Problems, Coping Strategies, and Potential Interventions 53
C. Kibuye, Gisenyi, and Ruhengeri: Highly Vulnerable to Food 58
Insecurity
1. Vulnerability: where, who, why, and what can be done 58
2. Kibuye: Background 59
3. Gisenyi: Background 60
4. Ruhengeri: Background 61
5. Summary of the District-level Information 62
1) Vulnerable social groups 62
2) Vulnerable sectors 62
6. The Social Groups' Economic Resources, Intangible 64
Resources, and Livelihood Strategies
7. The Food Supply: Sources, Seasonality, and Coping 68
Strategies for Insufficiency
8. Problems, Coping Strategies, and Potential Interventions 71
Bibliography 76
vii
1
I. INTRODUCTION
A. Background and Objectives of the Household Livelihood Security Survey
The lack of sound longitudinal and sectoral data in Rwanda makes analyzing the social and geographical distribution of food insecurity, and its causes, difficult. WFP-Rwanda therefore organized a vulnerability analysis and mapping (VAM) study to identify food-insecure areas and the characteristics of food-insecure populations. One major purpose of the study is to inform the Country Programme (CP) in order to improve sectoral and geographic targeting. Another major purpose is to provide a set of information for the VAM unit to begin building its database that will be used to analyze food-insecurity vulnerability patterns and their causes, and to assist the CO in linking vulnerability analysis with programming decisions. Ultimately, with georeferenced and longitudinal data from additional surveys and other sources, the VAM unit will build a solid database on food security that will be useful for CO programming and for the government's work toward building disaster management capacity.
The major objective of this consultancy was to answer these four questions:
· where are the food-insecure populations located?
· who are they, ie what social groups are vulnerable to food insecurity?
· why are these groups vulnerable?
· what are the potential interventions to address their vulnerability?
Fulfilling this objective will provide the CO with the necessary information for targeting for its next Country Programme (CP), and will provide an initial set of primary data for the VAM unit. The consultancy's second major objective was to train World Food Program-Rwanda (WFP) staff in the methodology for Household Livelihood Security (HLS) rapid assessment. This will give the CO the in-house capability to implement additional surveys when needed, and contribute primary data to the VAM unit's database.