Sustainability of Agricultural Crop Policies in Rwanda: An Integrated Cost–Benefit Analysis
<b> </b>Rwanda has aimed to achieve food self-sufficiency but faces binding land and budgetary constraints. A set of government policies have been in force for 20 years that have controlled the major cropping decisions of farmers. A cost–benefit analysis methodology is employed to evalua...
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doaj-0404060eb8554718a41b6a9c6db068c12020-12-24T00:01:40ZengMDPI AGSustainability2071-10502021-12-0113484810.3390/su13010048Sustainability of Agricultural Crop Policies in Rwanda: An Integrated Cost–Benefit AnalysisMikhail Miklyaev0Glenn Jenkins1David Shobowale2Faculty of Business and Economics, Eastern Mediterranean University, TRNC via Mersin 10, Gazimağusa 99450, TurkeyFaculty of Business and Economics, Eastern Mediterranean University, TRNC via Mersin 10, Gazimağusa 99450, TurkeyFaculty of Business and Economics, Eastern Mediterranean University, TRNC via Mersin 10, Gazimağusa 99450, Turkey<b> </b>Rwanda has aimed to achieve food self-sufficiency but faces binding land and budgetary constraints. A set of government policies have been in force for 20 years that have controlled the major cropping decisions of farmers. A cost–benefit analysis methodology is employed to evaluate the financial and resource flow statements of the key stakeholders. The object of the analysis is to determine the sustainability of the prevailing agricultural policies from the perspectives of the farmers, the economy, and the government budget. A total of seven crops were evaluated. In all provinces, one or more of the crops were either not sustainable from the financial perspective of the farmers or are economically inefficient in the use of Rwanda’s scarce resources. The annual fiscal cost to the government of supporting the sector is substantial but overall viewed to be sustainable. A major refocusing is needed of agricultural policies, away from a monocropping strategy to one that allows the farmers to adapt to local circumstances. A more market-oriented approach is needed if the government wishes to achieve its economic development goal of having a sustainable agricultural sector that supports the policy goal of achieving food self-sufficiency.https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/1/48Rwandaagricultural policy sustainabilityland scarcityfood self-sufficiencyintegrated investment appraisal |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Mikhail Miklyaev Glenn Jenkins David Shobowale |
spellingShingle |
Mikhail Miklyaev Glenn Jenkins David Shobowale Sustainability of Agricultural Crop Policies in Rwanda: An Integrated Cost–Benefit Analysis Sustainability Rwanda agricultural policy sustainability land scarcity food self-sufficiency integrated investment appraisal |
author_facet |
Mikhail Miklyaev Glenn Jenkins David Shobowale |
author_sort |
Mikhail Miklyaev |
title |
Sustainability of Agricultural Crop Policies in Rwanda: An Integrated Cost–Benefit Analysis |
title_short |
Sustainability of Agricultural Crop Policies in Rwanda: An Integrated Cost–Benefit Analysis |
title_full |
Sustainability of Agricultural Crop Policies in Rwanda: An Integrated Cost–Benefit Analysis |
title_fullStr |
Sustainability of Agricultural Crop Policies in Rwanda: An Integrated Cost–Benefit Analysis |
title_full_unstemmed |
Sustainability of Agricultural Crop Policies in Rwanda: An Integrated Cost–Benefit Analysis |
title_sort |
sustainability of agricultural crop policies in rwanda: an integrated cost–benefit analysis |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Sustainability |
issn |
2071-1050 |
publishDate |
2021-12-01 |
description |
<b> </b>Rwanda has aimed to achieve food self-sufficiency but faces binding land and budgetary constraints. A set of government policies have been in force for 20 years that have controlled the major cropping decisions of farmers. A cost–benefit analysis methodology is employed to evaluate the financial and resource flow statements of the key stakeholders. The object of the analysis is to determine the sustainability of the prevailing agricultural policies from the perspectives of the farmers, the economy, and the government budget. A total of seven crops were evaluated. In all provinces, one or more of the crops were either not sustainable from the financial perspective of the farmers or are economically inefficient in the use of Rwanda’s scarce resources. The annual fiscal cost to the government of supporting the sector is substantial but overall viewed to be sustainable. A major refocusing is needed of agricultural policies, away from a monocropping strategy to one that allows the farmers to adapt to local circumstances. A more market-oriented approach is needed if the government wishes to achieve its economic development goal of having a sustainable agricultural sector that supports the policy goal of achieving food self-sufficiency. |
topic |
Rwanda agricultural policy sustainability land scarcity food self-sufficiency integrated investment appraisal |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/1/48 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT mikhailmiklyaev sustainabilityofagriculturalcroppoliciesinrwandaanintegratedcostbenefitanalysis AT glennjenkins sustainabilityofagriculturalcroppoliciesinrwandaanintegratedcostbenefitanalysis AT davidshobowale sustainabilityofagriculturalcroppoliciesinrwandaanintegratedcostbenefitanalysis |
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