Oxfam has been working in Rwanda since the 1970s, and this project sits within the women's economic leadership programme. Together with local partners¹, a two-year pilot was undertaken which supported 800 women's small-scale horticultural nursery enterprises to produce pineapple cuttings for sale to large farms. Up to 5,000 plants can be grown on a 100m sq. plot, and has shown that it is possible to achieve high returns from minimal resources, in this land-scarce country.
This project will scale-up the successful pilot to seven districts in the Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western provinces. It will provide agricultural and business training to women, and establish links to micro-finance services and better markets - so they can establish their own horticultural businesses. It will also pilot two additional crops, passion fruit and tree tomatoes, plus expand pineapple planting across existing nurseries.
Project aims
- Reduce poverty of very poor and vulnerable female farmers, by supporting them to receive training and technology to set up their own nurseries, and to access new credit and market opportunities.
- Raise women's status within their households and communities by supporting them to become leaders in the horticulture supply-chain, and in turn, generate jobs for others.
- Increase investment in women's agricultural activities, by showcasing the vital role they play, and lobbying for policies that target the most vulnerable.
¹ Duterimbere ASBL; Duterimbere IMF, its small-business finance arm (100% women-owned); and Institut des Sciences Agronomiques du Rwanda (ISAR), the national horticulture research institute.