The Country and the poverty context

Rural Poverty

In 1994, Rwanda’s population was 7.75 million, over 300 persons km2, making it one of Africa’s most densely populated countries. As a result of the conflict, the population fell to an estimated 6.1 million in 1995. By 1998, with the return of several waves of refugees, it had risen to 7.9 million, of which 45% are under 14-years old. About 90% of the Rwanda people live in rural areas and for most of them farming is their main source of livelihood.

The events of 1994 caused a catastrophic rise in poverty in Rwanda, with approximately 70% of all households falling under the poverty line. The depth of poverty also increased. A dramatic effect was the change in the proportion of female-headed households (FHH) in the population, and the change in the dependency ratio of poorer households. The percentage of households considered “complete”- with two or more adults - fell significantly, with a large number of households being headed by women, male widowers, minors, old and handicapped people. Poverty affects female headed HHs more than male headed HHs, due to labour constraints in the family. Many female headed HHs are very poor and have the same number of people as less poor households, but fewer adult family members.

The movements of populations due to the civil disturbances that went on for almost 10 years had a strong impact on poverty levels. For the refugees, these movements were not one-off events, with one period of departure and one period of return, but a continuing source of instability up until the end of 1996. People who moved and people who did not move were equally affected but in different ways. Displaced populations were unable to farm and depended on wild food and food aid distribution, which generally supplied an inadequate diet. The sudden flight of people affected those who did not move as well, because of the resulting abrupt shortage of labour at planting and harvest time, the impact on demand and prices, and the need to allocate productive time to resolving issues of land allocation and shelter when the refugees returned. Thus, while the country has achieved quick re-stabilization since 1995 at the macroeconomic level, for many local communities the process of reconstruction and normalization of economic activities started only in late 1997. In several rural areas, the construction or reconstruction of basic infrastructure, the rehabilitation of agricultural production services, and the restoration and development of efficient market mechanisms, is not yet fully accomplished. There are still almost 333 000 people living in camps, and waiting to be assigned a plot of land to return to normal life.

By 2001, the main country-wise socio-economic indicators were as shown in table 1.

Table 1:

The demographic structure of Rwanda has changed, with women now accounting for about 54% of the total population. In the age group 16-64 years – representing 49% of the total population in 1996 – women accounted for 27% compared with 22% for men, that is adult women were about 23% more numerous than adult men. This situation is reflected in the number of women-(widow) headed household, which has increased significantly to over 22% of all households in 1996, with peaks of 24% and 28% in some provinces (Umutara and Butare, respectively). In order to fully appreciate the situation, a large number of households headed by minors must be added to this. In rural areas, woman and minor-headed households have insufficient labour to cultivate all their land. Many households lost the land their families tilled before the war and have now become extremely poor landless labourers.

The HIV/AIDS epidemic constitutes a serious threat to Rwanda’s human resources and overall development. A survey conducted in 1997 found that more than 11% of the population over the age of 12 was affected. The infection rate was found to be 10.8% among men and 11.3% among women, and 11.6% in urban centres compared with 10.8% in the rural areas. The HIV/AIDS epidemic has serious consequences. In agriculture the HIV/AIDS causes a reduction of workable labour and public investment due to the re-channeling resources from the agricultural sector to health. In the education sector, the impact of HIV/AIDS is felt by a reduced supply of teachers as a result of illness and death, and/of absenteeism due to caring for sick family members.