Empowering 7, 000 households in Kigali and other six secondary cities in Rwanda to adopt and practice urban farming practices and family fruits garden

Posted: Dec 06, 2024

In the next three decades, Rwanda aims to transform its demographic and economic landscape by increasing the share of its population living in urban areas from 18.4% in 2022 to 35% by 2035 and ultimately to 70% by 2050, as outlined in the National Land Use and Development Master Plan (2020) and Vision 2050. While urbanization is positioned as a key driver of future growth, this rapid shift presents significant challenges particularly in ensuring food and nutrition security for urban residents. The current statistics revealed poverty rate in urban stands at 14% (IECV7), about 21.3% of urban children are stunted (chronic malnutrition), 2.9% wasted (acute malnutrition), and 8.1% are underweight. Although urban malnutrition levels are lower than rural (33.4% stunting, 3.8% wasting, and 13.6% underweight), urban malnutrition persists owing to challenges including high food costs, poor dietary diversity, and socio-economic disparities (DHS 2019-2020). The urban rate of unemployment according to the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR, 2023) stands at 22%, which is far higher than the national rate of 15%. Youths (16–30 years) bear the highest brunt with 26% unemployment of urban youths, while urban women have an unemployment rate of 24%, showing gender differentials in labor access (NISR, EICV7 2023/24). Urban Rwandan communities suffer increased food security problems despite lowered poverty rates compared to rural settlements. Rising food prices as a result of inflation and living off market purchases over agricultural production put pressure on poor households (WFP, 2022). And low dietary diversity leads to most micronutrient deficiencies (NISR, DHS 2019-20). Informal settlement overcrowding also further aggravates child malnutrition with 21.3% of the urban area stunting due to inadequate sanitation and food storage facilities (UNICEF, 2021). These alarming figures highlight a hidden urban crisis: the lack of access to fresh, nutritious, and affordable food, high food prices, limited space for cultivation, and overdependence on imported or market-based food sources exacerbate the vulnerability of urban families especially low-income households. In response to the aforementioned challenges, Agri Chain Solutions Group in collaboration with The Result is implementing a five years community project entitled “Urban Farming and Family Fruits Garden Project.” This project aims to improve household food security and nutrition through sustainable urban agriculture and family-based fruit gardening in Kigali and six secondary cities . The project will be implemented between 2025–2030 and targets to reach 7,000 households.