A three-year project designed to increase agriculture and livestock productivity was last weekend launched in Mukura Sector, Rustiro District in Western Province.

Dubbed Saemaul Zero Hunger Communities (SZHC), the project is supported by the World Food Programme (WFP), in partnership with the Government of Rwanda.

This is the second phase of the project, and will be implemented between 2016-2018.

Saturday’s launch follows the successful implementation of the pilot project in Nyamagabe District in Southern Province, 2012-2014, hailed for helping the community to improve food security and livelihoods.

The project will be implemented in three new sectors namely; Mukura, Ruganda and Kamegeri in Rustiro, Karongi and Nyamagabe districts, respectively, in Southern and Western provinces.

Under the project, 700 hectares will be used in agricultural land terracing, and 110 hectors on marshland reclamation.

The three sectors will also benefit from 5, 295; 1, 695; 212; 1,000 and 200 pigs, goats, sheep, rabbits and modern beehives, respectively.

Abdurrahman Siddiqui, WFP deputy country director, said they are using community based approach, where entire populations are involved in terms of planning activities to be implemented.

"By using a well-proven community-based approach, the goal of this project is to improve households’ access to livelihood assets and, ultimately, enabling them to meet their own food and nutrition needs,” said Siddiqui.

Vincent Munyeshyaka, the Minister of State for socio-economic development, said the project is one of the biggest to be implemented in the selected areas, and the ministry expects a positive impact on the livelihood of the population.

"We are expecting positive change so that we can also replicate the same approach to other districts and provinces, as well as to the entire country,” he said.

Munyeshyaka also said plans were underway to link residents with financial institutions like Saccos to encourage a savings culture.

"There is a big component on capacity building for the population in terms of managing cooperatives and being involved in the whole process of planning, monitoring and the use of the produce,” he added.

However, the minister urged the residents to own the implementation process of the project to benefit from it.

The Saemaul Zero Hunger Communities project combines WFP’s Food Assistance, for Assets model with the Republic of Korea’s Saemaul Undong (New Village Movement) approach to rural development.

The project builds community assets through land terracing, marshland development, a road rehabilitation, and provides capacity building trainings in income generating activities, post-harvest handling and management, which together help increase food security.

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