By: Marisa Lago
Secretary Geithner said in March 2011 that “promoting peace, security, and stability around the world requires tackling critical, long-term drivers of volatility and conflict: food security, environmental degradation, and climate change.” The Treasury Department continues to support and build on our investment in the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP), an innovative U.S. initiative endorsed by the G-20 that makes long-term investments in the agricultural sectors of the poorest countries. In Africa, where farmers are already seeing the effects of climate change, investments like those funded by GAFSP are crucial to improving productivity while preserving land and water resources.
Against this backdrop, I recently visited Rwanda’s Land Husbandry, Water Harvesting, and Hillside Irrigation program (LWH program), which is jointly funded by USAID, the World Bank, the GAFSP, the Canadian International Development Agency, and the Government of Rwanda. My goal was to see firsthand how the U.S. government’s investment in the GAFSP and the U.S. Government’s Feed the Future initiative (which includes bilateral assistance as well as funding to multilateral initiatives like GAFSP) has transformed the lives of rural farmers in a country that is still recovering from a devastating genocide. No amount of time spent reading reports from implementing agencies and donor organizations could have the same effect as touring a successful project and talking to the people whose lives have been changed by the project.
Rwanda is the most densely populated country on the African continent, and rugged hills cover most of the country. Torrential rains wash away precious topsoil, and farmers have struggled to apply enough fertilizer to maintain productivity. Under the LWH program and with the help of donors, however, Rwanda has begun an extensive program of hillside terracing to conserve water, soil, and fertilizer. This means that local farmers can better feed their communities, promoting economic stability.
Driving from Kigali to Nyanza, I saw some of the completed terraces, and in Nyanza I was able to see the hard work that it takes to implement the LWH program. We visited a tree nursery where workers representing the most at-risk population are cultivating seedlings to plant on the newly terraced hillsides, in order to hold back the soil and retain water. These elderly workers, including women widowed during the genocide, are folks who would normally be isolated by their poverty. I was overwhelmed by the heartfelt greetings of the nursery’s employees, who told me how this project brought them out of isolation and gave them a sense of ownership of the LWH project. The project also contributes to societal stability, bringing together neighbors who had become distrustful of one another during the genocide.
The LWH program has achieved results in just one growing season in the newly-terraced areas. Potato harvests have quintupled on a per-hectare basis in some places, and maize output has increased up to 300 percent. Farmers have also gained access to financial institutions for the first time. It begins with the stipend that the farmers receive that allows them to miss a growing season while constructing hillside terraces. This stipend is delivered through a local savings and loan cooperative, which also allows these farmers to have savings accounts and access to loans that they can use to buy seeds and fertilizer. The project has even created microenterprises to produce the large volume of compost that is the primary source of fertilizer used on LWH sites. Before we left, the nursery staff presented me with a generous gift of their local produce, the most lush, beautiful purple-black beans that I have ever seen.
Moving a few miles down the country road, we saw an active LWH construction site. I was stunned by the view of hundreds of Rwandans on a single hillside, using hoes and shovels to transform the landscape. Because agricultural plots have to be taken out of production for a full growing season to construct the hillside terraces, support of donors like GAFSP - which awarded $50 million in grants to Rwanda - and USAID is critical.
I noticed one young woman working with her newborn baby slung across her back and asked to speak with her. This woman traveled from a neighboring town to work on the LWH program after hearing about job openings. She was happy to have a good job that helped her access health insurance for herself and her three children. Rwandans are very proud of the fact that over 90 percent of the population has health insurance.
I left Nyanza to resume my schedule of meetings reaffirmed in my belief that U.S. investment in food security is a wise decision. While the LWH program offers Rwandan farmers a chance to improve their yields dramatically and attract investment in the agricultural value chain, it also has very real benefits to the United States. More than ever before, our interests are bound to the interests of people beyond our borders. Our leadership in the GAFSP, the World Bank, and other multilateral development banks allows us to help our neighbors. The growth in local income in Rwanda will support demand for U.S. products, and a growing agribusiness sector will offer opportunities for American exporters and investors. In addition, our support for growing economies provides more and better employment opportunities for local people, lifting them out of poverty and fostering stability that promotes the security interests of the United States and the world.
Rwanda faces many challenges, including low access to electricity and a high (but falling) poverty rate. However, programs like the LWH program offer hope that Rwanda can overcome these challenges and secure a brighter future for its population.
Marisa Lago is Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Markets and Development.