THE government needs $100 million to fund a terracing project around the country, the Minister of Agriculture; Agnes Kalibata has said.

Kalibata told The New Times yesterday that the entire project costs $200 million but half of it is already available.  The money will be used to roll out a terracing project in 17 of the country’s 30 districts, beginning with Karongi and Rutsiro.

"We are optimistic that we will get the other half in due time,” she said "This project will cost a lot of money but we are happy because we will be able to give people who had given up on farming on their hills a chance to a better livelihood.”

Kalibata added: "We will terrace the hills in such a way that when it rains, we can still be able to harvest rainwater from the hills which we can, in turn, use for irrigation.”
With this program, the minister hopes that Rwanda can use the opportunity to tap into the regional market.

"If we improve and keep working hard on out agricultural programs, we can even start feeding other East African countries that are not yet food secure,” she said

Kalibata pointed out that what is important now is to ensure quality life where people can work hard to get enough food for their families and also sell the surplus.

Agriculture in Rwanda has improved mainly due to the increased investment in agriculture, which rose by 30 percent between 2007 and 2009.

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