Spore reports:
More hereSmallholder farmers in Rwanda are adapting to climate change and boosting production by forming cooperatives.
Farmers at Ejo Heza Coop shelling maize before storing it in a common warehouse © I Esipisu
With support from the Rwandan government, through development organisations and the Rwanda Cooperative Agency (RCA), smallholder farmers are able to access bank loans, sell their produce collectively for better profits, and invest more in food production. The government is now using the cooperatives to supply subsidised farm inputs to poor farmers, leading to considerable increases in yield. “Cooperatives are a potential vehicle through which members have created employment, improved food security all over the country, and through which farmers are generating income,” says Mugabo Damien, RCA director general.
