By Anne Wanlund, Country Director, Gardens for Health International
 
The adage “time is money” holds true no matter who you are in the world. For a rural woman smallholder in Rwanda, investing time in her family’s land is a critical input. Faced with finite time, farmers confront impossible questions. When a child is sick, for example, those questions may be: Do I need to take my child to the health center? Should I sacrifice this time now, knowing that delayed treatment could result in higher costs and more time away? Or should I wait, because if I leave now, my family will not eat today?
 
Despite urbanizing at a rate of 6.4 percent per year, over 90 percent of Rwanda’s population still engages in small-scale agriculture. With roughly 490 persons per square kilometer, Rwanda is the most densely populated country in Africa. And while it is outpacing many of its development targets, Rwanda is ranked the 18^th poorest country in the world and 51 percent of families have difficulty accessing food consistently throughout the year.
 
Difficult questions about time are also about opportunity. More opportunities in urban areas will draw people out of their rural communities and into the city, where they may be able to earn higher wages.
 
But for now, most Rwandans rely on their land as a source of food and income. And though acute malnutrition has dipped and stayed below 5 percent, 38 percent of Rwanda’s children under five are chronically malnourished, which means that while most young children are receiving enough calories, many are not absorbing sufficient micro- and macronutrients in their diets in the critical window of growth—the first 1,000 days.
 
This unique set of conditions poses important questions about where to focus agricultural development in the country: Rwanda’s urbanizing population continues to rely on agriculture, with very limited access to land, yet its vulnerable populations remain hungry and over one third of children aren’t absorbing the right nutrients.
 
Gardens for Health International’s strategy aims to meet vulnerable populations where they are, while considering this changing landscape. We do this in three ways: (1) Focusing on women as agents of change; (2) Using environmentally friendly farming practices; and (3) Tailoring our agricultural approach to the changing profile of Rwanda.
 
Women as Agents of Change
 
We enroll caregivers—mostly women—into our integrated nutrition and agriculture program based on the nutritional status of their children, thereby targeting the families who need support the most. Children under two with severe to moderate acute and chronic malnutrition are prioritized for selection. Focusing on nutrition, health, and agriculture for these caregivers makes sense for our program, as most smallholder farmers in Rwanda are women.
 
By providing a safety net at home with our agricultural training and nutrient-rich home garden package (which includes small livestock), we help women make appropriate food choices for their families. Through teaching an approach that is sensitive to the realities of a rural smallholder, we give them more time to pursue other important activities. This includes looking for other sources of income and taking children to access health services.
 
We also promote low-input farming practices, recognizing that the families we work with have to make impossible choices every day about how to spend limited income—and for most, fertilizer and pesticides simply won’t make the cut.
 
Protecting the Environment
 
The environmental impacts of urbanization and the stressors of farming on limited land adversely affect agricultural development for resource-constrained families. This includes intensive water extraction and diminishing access to land for farming. In Rwanda, while many smallholders are able to access some arable land, activities that limit and stress the land will always be worse for those who cannot invest in strategies to mitigate these effects. Our approach seeks to ensure that soil health is preserved by promoting agroforestry and conservation agriculture techniques in very limited plots of land.
 
A Changing Rwanda
 
Rwanda’s landscape is changing, and as in most countries, cities are an increasingly important focus for policymakers. Promoting agricultural practices for vulnerable populations that respond to urban trends is critical.
 
We recognize that the effects of urban development on agriculture will be felt most acutely by those who rely most on their small farms, as they may struggle to access resources diverted to building cities. Our model seeks to protect them as much as possible from external factors, by creating efficient, low-input, bio- and micronutrient diverse gardens and by educating caregivers in critical health and agriculture knowledge.
 
Factoring in time, as a precious resource for a rural smallholder woman, is an essential part of the equation. Creating a source of health and livelihoods that is within the home and does not require an extensive outlay of time is one of those interventions that recognizes how urbanization will change things for previously isolated communities. It also acknowledges that these farms need to meet the nutritional needs of household members in order for them to be successful.
 
Rwanda is the first country to launch the Compact2025 agreement, which will serve as a global information and innovation hub for eliminating malnutrition. The report that accompanied the launch in Kigali a few weeks ago highlighted the opportunity for Rwanda to focus on pro-poor agricultural approaches, following successful crop intensification efforts spearheaded by the Ministry of Agriculture. Given the challenges and opportunities afforded by rapid urbanization, ensuring agricultural policies are oriented to the rural poor so that they can be protected from—and take advantage of—these changes is key. Focusing on current barriers to health, such as micronutrient deficiencies, and constraints on time and resources is sensible policy.