FAO assesses value-chain approach to food security in Great Lakes Region
Food security improved for over 25,000 farmers through commercialization and cross-border trade
8 June, 2016, Kigali - Success stories and lessons learnt are discussed at an event in the Rwandese capital, concluding a project on the improvement of food security in cross-border districts of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda, in support of the modernization of agriculture under the NEPAD-CAADP framework.
With the objective of unlocking the high potential of agriculture and increasing incomes and better living standards in the Great Lakes Region, the project started in 2006 in collaboration with Governments of the respective countries and the financial support of the Italian Development Cooperation for a total contribution of over USD 9 million.
Mr Attaher Maiga, FAO Representative in Rwanda, highlighted that “a lot has been done and remarkable results were achieved”; he also added that “this workshop is very important as it will allow FAO to consolidate and share good practices to upscale successes at national level and even beyond”.
More than 1500 leaders of producers’ associations were exposed to the value chain approach and provided with knowledge to increase market-oriented production.
As result, organizations increased their business capacity and incomes, and improved quality of their production and standards in their processing activities.
Over 25,000 men and women farmers were involved in the project, organized into more than 300 associations, in 79 cooperatives and 37 small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
About 70 percent experienced at least a 30 percent increase of their household income, which resulted in improved access to food, social services and assets.
The Director General for Agricultural Development from Rwanda’s Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources, Mr Charles Murekezi, remarked: “one of Rwanda’s strategic objectives for transformation of the agricultural sector is the promotion of value chains. Rwanda is aiming at unlocking all those bottlenecks along the chains, right from production to markets; this approach –which has been demonstrated by the project- will lead us towards improving productivity and efficiency”.
Linking value chain actors
The value chain approach intended to develop inclusive systems of smallholder producers, buyers, processors, sellers, consumers and other actors. Concretely, the project contributed to the establishment of 10 rural processing plants (focusing on fruit juices, honey, rice, maize, cassava, cheese, potato and animal feed) and facilitated vertical integration and linkages between the various value chain actors.
Seventeen value chains with particular relevance in terms of food security and cash income were selected and supported to develop and upgrade, with the aim of tapping into their economic and social development potential, enhancing food security, and diversifying livelihoods as well as generating employment through more profitable production systems and increased value addition and access to markets.
Recently, the 29th session of the FAO Regional Conference for Africa urged the member-states to focus its work based on its comparative advantages and particularly to include, among others, facilitation to intra-regional trade that can play a key role in reducing food insecurity and poverty, promoting cash income and employment generation.
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