Background
The Food security Strengthening Technical and Recovery Intervention for Growth (FOSTERING) Project reaches out to 30 cooperatives of farmers in Gakenke and Nyabihu districts with holistic support that strengthens their capacities for inclusive climate-resilient agriculture and enhanced food production. The action promotes sustainable food production for local markets in Rwanda by promoting skilling, educating, and supporting local farmers to develop their businesses with the final aim of increasing food production, and reducing post-harvesting losses.
After Genocide perpetrated against Tutsi, Rwanda has recognized the tremendous achievements in sustaining Food Security. However, the country’s population still struggles to afford and access various food. The Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Analysis - 2022 (CSFVA) reports that in Rwanda, food insecurity and malnutrition are mainly caused by limited consumption of nutritionally diverse foods (CSFVA, p. 9-10).
Western and Northern Provinces are dominated by a high number of food insecure households as the provinces are mostly stroked by natural disasters, especially landslides and floods that inhibit food production. Moreover, farmers are not skilled enough to apply modern agricultural technics to enhance crop productivity. The recommendations drawn from findings of the assessment conducted by FXB Rwanda in Gakenke and Nyabihu districts suggested initiating innovative approaches that support farmers to address challenges related to the lack of skills, cultural mindset, and limited knowledge on application of modern technologies that increase the food value chain.
Methodology
Funded by European Union, FOSTERING project is being implemented by FXB Rwanda in partnership with E4Impact leveraging both partners’ expertise to bring the project to success. The project intervenes in promoting, skilling, and educating 30 cooperatives of farmers comprising 3000 members on agriculture practices and supporting them to develop their businesses and link them to local markets.
The project’s specific objectives are :
(1)Smart climate change resilience and post-harvest loss reduction measures are enhanced,
(2) access to market for farmers and local cooperatives, and
(3) the capacity of farmers in addressing food security and nutrition (FNS) issues is enhanced.