SNV
Remote (Kigali, Rwanda)
1. Context of Agroforestry in Rwanda and the project The Rwandan agriculture sector employs 80 percent of working people and occupies about 77 percent of the country area. The sector is dominated by rainfed subsistence farming, characterized by low productivity and low use of inputs and technologies (e.g. fertilizer, improved seeds, mechanization, etc.) and provides 90 percent of national food needs. Over-cultivation and exploitation of natural resources along with poor farming practices have led to extended land degradation, soil erosion, deforestation, loss of biodiversity, poor performance of crops and yield, watershed imbalance and landslides. Production of energy to meet the demands of an increasing population needs to be considered alongside the production of food. Due to the heavy pressure on land, agriculture has developed at the expense of forests, pastures and vulnerable environments, including very steep lands (90 percent of the total land is on slopes),...