Authors : Mupenzi Mutimura and Terry Everson
Abstract: Livestock rearing in Rwanda including the Bugesera and Nyamagabe districts is practised under stalling. This is due to the high human population which results in a land shortage. More land is devoted to cropping than to livestock production. In the Bugesera district, animal feed is constrained by low rainfall whereas in the Nyamagabe district, it is constrained by acidic soil with aluminium toxicity. As feeds for animals have become labour-intensive within a community, men and women may have different interests in livestock production. In addition, wealth status of farmers may influence the development of livestock production under the problem of land shortage and different abiotic and biotic stress conditions. The objective of this study was to analyse the role of gender and wealth categories in livestock activities in target areas. Focus group discussions were held by 20 farmer representatives from each district. Farmers were divided into two groups of males and females and each group drew up livestock activities related to gender. It was found that in both districts, livestock activities were shared between genders but certain activities (e.g., milking cows, animal shed construction) were intended for males due to the culture beliefs. In both districts, wealth ranking showed that land, number of cattle and the type of cattle owned by farmers were the important characteristics of categorising the community.
Mupenzi Mutimura and Terry Everson, 2012. The Role of Gender in Livestock Rearing in the Low Rainfall and Acidic Soil Prone Areas of Rwanda. Agricultural Journal, 7: 152-159.