II.4 AGRICULTURE EXPLOITATION IN RWANDA
The omnipresence of the hill considered as basic unit, the
atomization of the habitat and the dispersion of the pieces constitute some of
the fundamental features of the rural landscape. The dispersion of the pieces
constitutes a judicious response with the variety of the agro-ecological
conditions.
II.4.1 Structure of the agricultural exploitation
In order to remain coherent with the agricultural tools of the
national structure, we adopted the definition of the agricultural exploitation
proposed by the MINAGRI:
«The farm on which the household lives is a
techno-economic unit of agricultural production, including all the animals
which are there and all the ground used entirely or partly for the agricultural
production and which is subjected to a single direction of the head of
household. Basically, a traditional farm of Rwanda is composed of:
The house compound (urugo) limited by fences, where main house
and sometimes a small garden are located. It is also used as Cattle Park.
Around the enclosure, one finds the banana plantation, beans, various
vegetables and sometimes tobacco. These grounds are periodically fertilized
using the residues of kitchen or harvest and the animal manure, even human. On
the slope/hillside, the permanent crops alternate with the fallow: sometimes, a
piece is devoted to a small plantation of coffee-trees. Some exploitations have
grounds grazed permanently. In low land/ foot of the hill, a piece of that
land is cultivated in bulks where peasants produce sorghum if the ground water
is low, sweet potatoes and vegetables if it is high like in Mayaga (Jacques
Tassin, 1989).
II.4.2 Typology and
characteristics of agricultural farms in Rwanda
Typology of agricultural farms reflects how the farm is
organised and how it operates. The procedure in establishing farm typology
consists of identifying similar features for a group of farms and categorise
the group as one typology. According to a study carried out by MINAGRI on
production systems in 1991, three types of farmers with specific
characteristics and strategies were identified.
TYPE A: «the small dependent farmer» with a small
pieces of land- his homestead, which cannot produce enough food for the
family's subsistence - he has to engage in other activities (trader, hauling,
crafts etc...) or sell his labour to someone else to complement his farm
output.
TYPE B: «The self-sufficient farmer» This type has
just adequate farmland and labour to satisfy his family's food needs. Other
activities outside farming (trade, handicrafts) are an addition to his farm
output and important to the family as extra income.
TYPE C: «production system using capital» is more
heterogeneous. A first sub-group is close to type B but has more production
factors whereas the third sub-group is composed of absentee farmers
(businessmen, civil servants) who pursue land acquisition and accumulation
strategies.
However, the proportion and types of farms may differ from one
area to another depending to different reasons. For instance, major crops and
their spatial arrangement may differ from one location to another.
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