FOSTERING: Food Security Strengthening Technical And Recovery Intervention For Growth
Rwanda’s variable seasons impact agriculture, with hot seasons making it difficult for crops to thrive. Climate change has made things worse, with some seasons lasting longer than usual; this leads to reduced harvests and food insecurity. The solution is equipping the farmers with smart climatic data.
The project aims at promoting climate-resilient agriculture and enhancing sustainable food production for local markets in Rwanda. It follows a community-based-approach where the main actors are the agricultural cooperatives and groups, who often lack the skills and knowledge to implement smart agricultural practices. To fix this problem the project involves promoting, skilling, educating and supporting local farmers to develop their business, reducing post-harvesting losses.
The project will also carry on the “promotion of inclusive agriculture” by involving women farmers to strengthen their role in society. Unpaid care work represents a barrier for their participation in the labour market, affecting productivity, economic growth, and poverty reduction. Women also take the responsibility for childcare: their lack of empowerment has a direct impact on children to develop their full potential. That’s why the action targets the cooperatives with women and youth as dominant population to assure their inclusiveness in agricultural value chains.
The “FOSTERING” project will be introduced with an evaluation of the market potential for cooperatives producing passion fruits, pineapples, and sweet potatoes. Within the project, the E4Impact Research Team will conduct a market evaluation to determine market size against production size. E4Impact also plans to train local business coaches using the ToT methodology. These 8 coaches will then conduct training sessions for 90 local leaders of cooperatives, as well as 60 women and youth representatives. The training involves 4 Boot Camps, consisting of 3 days of workshops where practical tools will be provided to the beneficiaries through coaching sessions, which will help them test and enhance these solutions.
