A multi-story building strategy could be a good response to the high population growth in secondary cities which is posing a threat to land for crop cultivation, according to an official at the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB).
The fifth population and housing census highlighted that high population density, and a poor mode of construction was becoming a threat to available agriculture land and the environment notably in Rubavu and Musanze districts.
Inhabitants per square kilometre in Rubavu district are 1,614 while in Musanze district it is 1,157, following Kicukiro, Nyarugenge, and Gasabo with 2,944, 2,830, and 2,056 population densities, respectively.
The country's population density is 503 people per square kilometre.
ALSO READ: Eastern Province: New potato types undergo testing to boost yields
Despite climate change that also upsets land for farming primarily in Northern and Western Provinces, where arable land is usually washed away by erosion and landslides, poor habitation is encroaching on land that could be used for agricultural purposes in the several districts, especially those considered to be the country’s food basket.
Irish potatoes, vegetables, and greens supplied across the country are largely grown in the volcanic areas of Musanze and Rubavu districts.
According to the Deputy Director General of RAB, Florence Uwamahoro, land for agriculture should be protected considering the population growth.
She said: "There is high population growth, and as people increase, they also need food and space for infrastructure, but land for agriculture should be protected.”
Uwamahoro noted that "land for cultivation should be protected from other activities" even as RAB is looking into ways to improve production per hectare and "more studies are being conducted for applying technology in agriculture.”
Currently, maize production stands at 1.7 tonnes per hectare as a national average, while potato production could reach 30 tonnes per hectare, she said.
Referring to the secondary cities of Rubavu and Musanze, whose population is growing and reportedly becoming a threat to arable land, Uwamahoro emphasised that multi-story buildings could be a good long-term solution.
"Having such [fertile] land being consumed up is a challenge. That’s why we recommend that people embrace multi-story buildings to stop exhausting all the land,” Uwamahoro told The New Times.
Marie Grace Nishimwe, the Director General of the National Land Authority, noted that most arable land set aside for crop cultivation is protected under the National Land Use and Development Plan. She emphasised the need for strict enforcement of regulations to prevent unauthorised construction on agricultural land.
For Nishimwe, "inspection should be enforced at all levels to detect the violations and apply the law when it occurs” to ensure that "citizens use their land according to the designated land use plan as the law provides sanctions against violation of the master plans.”
The national land use and development master plan 2020-2050 (NLUDMP) also "strongly recommends vertical housing infrastructure in urban and rural areas in the form of multi-family apartments and socio-economic infrastructure like industries, schools, health facilities, among others ” to allow for efficient use of land mainly in densely populated areas where space is limited given the future demographic trends.
The national land use plan targets reducing the number of Imidugudu (settlement villages) from 14,000 to 3,000, remaining with less than one-quarter of the current number to increase arable land.
ALSO: Farmers urged to embrace crop rotation amid potato farming drop
Figures by the Rwanda Land Authority show that 47.46 percent of the country’s land is designated for agriculture. The land area of Rwanda, totalling 26,338 square kilometres has only 8,400 square kilometres considered as very suitable land for agriculture.