Rwanda failed irrigation schemes subject farmers to high cost of production
Saturday May 29 2021
Farmers say the cost of maintaining infrastructure has made it difficult to produce food. PHOTO | CYRIL NDEGEYA
Eastern Province, a region prone to drought, remains at the risk of food security due to failure and mismanagement of several irrigation projects initiated in the region.
In addition, flooding in the region has not only destroyed sub-standard irrigation infrastructure and made repairs difficult but also crops.
And yet for the few successful irrigation projects, farmers complain that the cost of irrigation is too high.
Farmers under pressure to pay a high upfront payment to acquire irrigation systems after costs for machinery and accessories on the market skyrocketed, in addition to a sharp rise in fuel costs.
For instance, over the last year, the cost of basic irrigation machinery that can cover two hectares cost as high as Rwf550,000 from Rwf450,000 while accessories like the 100-metre pipe rose from Rwf80,000 to Rwf140,000.
Fuel cost rose from Rwf930 a litre to between Rwf1,030 to Rwf1,080 as of March. Many farmers are worried that ahead of the prolonged dry season, they may struggle to feed their farmers.
“Irrigation is proving to be unaffordable for ordinary farmers because after costs went up, the uptake has gone down. Many have been forced to irrigate once or twice a week as opposed to the four times recommended per week just because many can no longer afford the rising costs...” Alexis Musabirema, a farmer in the drought-prone areas of Bugesera District told Rwanda Today.
“So in a season where one barely expects some rains to supplement a few times of irrigation, up to 80 percent of the intended yield is lost. As we head to the dry season, many are resorting to leasing their parcels to those who can afford to irrigate until it’s the rainy season again when there won’t be need to foot bills associated with routine irrigation.”
Sources indicate that the government's subsidy to the irrigation has not helped as suppliers inflate prices to compensate for costs linked to reported delays in state disbursement of its share under the scheme.
A survey by Rwanda Today showed that across other drought-hit areas of Eastern and Southern Province namely Kibugazi, Rwamamba, Mayange, Gashora, Rurenge, and Remera, among others, costs were aggravated by wreaks inflicted by floods from successive adverse rains which paralysed existing irrigation schemes such as those pumping water from rivers and lakes, river dams and local harvesting of rainwater.
For many, the floods exposed farmers to high maintenance costs and have since thwarted hopes of resuming farming this upcoming season in instances where traditional irrigation is not possible.
The plight of farmers was equally documented by HoReCo, an organisation managing a number of irrigation and agriculture mechanization schemes in partnership with the government.
According to the organisation, incidences of erosion left irrigation infrastructure under its management in need of rehabilitation for production to resume. Rwanda Today had not obtained details about progress by press time.
Kirehe District which was hit the worst by successive flood events, and hosts the populous refugee camp for Burundians and Congolese nationals, had seen adverse rains paralyse food production for the better part of last year and this year.
The audit found only 877 hacteres of the area’s planned 7,000 ha under the project funded using $120.05 million loans acquired from Export-Import Bank (EXIM Bank), covered by irrigation infrastructure.
According to the latest Auditor General’s report for the year 2019/2020, key components of the exports-targeted irrigation and mechanization projects initiated in 2011 to cover the 7,000 ha area of drought-prone Kirehe District had not started or were abandoned.
With the initial completion date being 15 July 2017, the project had raised hopes of thousands of farmers in areas of Mahama, Mpanga, and Nyamugali sectors of Kirehe district of Eastern Province whose farming activities are wreaked by the scorching sun over the incoming months until mid-September.
Rwanda now targets to increase the total area under irrigation from 63,742 ha to over 100,000 ha in the next three years after falling short of the target by 2017.
Routine agriculture surveys suggest that traditional irrigation techniques remain predominantly as they were used by 71.5 percent of the farmers in Season A, 47.1 percent, and 81.3 percent in Season B and Season C of 2020 respectively.