EASTERN PROVINCE NYAGATARE — Residents of Nyagatare District who acquired land under the land redistribution exercise last year, have embarked on serious agricultural production. The residents in Tabagwe Sector had previously blamed their low crop production on lack of enough farm land. However, with the new acquired land, they hope for better harvest to overcome households’ food shortages. Irish and sweet potatoes are some of the crops they are growing on slightly larger acreage of land than before. “I think we are all fighting back and it will be surprise if we get back to normal harvests much quicker than people think,” Sylvia Kantengwa, one of the beneficiaries told The New Times Tuesday. Kantengwa, a widow and mother of four children, is convinced that someone with land can not fail to live in better life. “If I had this land by the time I came back (1995) to my country, I would be rich by now,” she said. The era of surviving only on poor farming practice to her is an issue of the past, because she is now valuing education as only best way for someone to have sustainable living. “Hadn’t it been efforts of those who attended education, none of us would have got any piece of land for future survival,” Kantegwa added. The need to educate her children and practice modern farming is key aspect on her future agenda. Michael Semandwa, 84, another resident also noted that the biggest mistake any household in Rwanda would do in this era is to count on poor farming practices without education. Semandwa noted that people should embrace education because everybody has got a right to it unlike in the past. “We have to work harder to show the government that the new land owners are determined,” he said. To Semandwa, the overall approach should be more concentration on modern farming and educating children to develop new routes for attaining sustainable livelihoods. Ends
