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With research staff from more than 60 countries, and offices across the globe, IFPRI provides research-based policy solutions to sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition in developing countries.

researcher spotlight

Ruth Meinzen-Dick

Ruth Meinzen-Dick is a Senior Research Fellow in the Natural Resources and Resilience Unit. She has extensive transdisciplinary research experience in using qualitative and quantitative research methods. Her work focuses on two broad (and sometimes interrelated) areas: how institutions affect how people manage natural resources, and the role of gender in development processes. 

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IFPRI currently has more than 600 employees working in over 80 countries with a wide range of local, national, and international partners.

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experts

Development Strategies and Governance

Serge Mugabo

Senior Research Associate

Bio

Serge Mugabo is a Senior Research Associate in the Development Strategies and Governance Unit, based in Kigali, where he provides analytical support to the IFPRI Rwanda Strategy Support Program (RSSP). He contributes to research on prioritizing agricultural transformation, increasing agricultural productivity, improving nutrition, and strengthening food systems and the rural non-farm economy as well as fostering broad-based economic growth and development in Rwanda. Before joining the IFPRI Rwanda team, Serge worked for the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) as an Economic Studies and Research Statistician mainly focusing on poverty analysis. Serge holds a master’s degree in Mathematical Sciences from the African Institute of Mathematical Science (AIMS) in Senegal and a bachelor’s degree in Engineering in Statistics Applied to Economy from INES–Ruhengeri, in Rwanda.

Publications

Publications

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Brief

Synopsis: Enhancing rural income diversification in Rwanda: Opportunities and challenges

2024Schmidt, Emily; Mugabo, Serge; Rosenbach, Gracie
Details

Synopsis: Enhancing rural income diversification in Rwanda: Opportunities and challenges

This study describes the employment patterns of rural households in Rwanda and explores their challenges and opportunities for rural income diversification. Detailed analysis using a 2022 rural household smallholder survey on agricultural production and employment in Rwanda, reveals that: • Agricultural wage labor is the dominant source of off-farm income and is the primary means of supplementing rural household income. This is different than other LMICs where households are more likely to develop nonfarm enterprises that bring in extra income and diversify the rural economy towards more value-added output while also increasing demand for rural inputs. • This research suggests that factors like access to education and financial services are key factors to employment decisions and improved rural urban linkages.

Year published

2024

Authors

Schmidt, Emily; Mugabo, Serge; Rosenbach, Gracie

Citation

Schmidt, Emily; Mugabo, Serge; and Rosenbach, Gracie. 2024. Synopsis: Enhancing rural income diversification in Rwanda: Opportunities and challenges. Rwanda Strategy Support Program Policy Note 16. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute

Country/Region

Rwanda

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Employment; Rural Population; Households; Income; Diversification; Agricultural Production; Access to Finance; Education

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

National Policies and Strategies

Record type

Brief

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Brief

Rwandan maize market price dynamics: Structure, trends and policy implications

2024Warner, James; Benimana, Gilberthe Uwera; Mugabo, Serge; Niyonsingiza, Josue; Mukangabo, Emerence; Ingabire, Chantal
Details

Rwandan maize market price dynamics: Structure, trends and policy implications

The importance of maize for Rwanda cannot be overstated. Most smallholder farmers, along the spectrum of both land size and level of commercialization, engage in both production, own consumption, and sale of maize. Unlike most other crops, maize is commonly produced by all levels of commercialized and subsistence smallholder farmers. For example, recent research revealed that even though almost half of all maize produced is sold (44%), only an average of 23 percent is marketed at the household level (Warner et al. 2024). This indicates that while maize is widely sold by most smallholders, it is disproportionally sold by those with relatively larger farms. Therefore, maize is important for both own consumption as well as commercial sales and price movements are critical for understanding potential welfare impacts on both buyers and sellers. Research presented here outlines some important maize price relationships, including multi-year trends, interrelationships between Rwandan markets and seasonality. Overall, we find strong correlation between all markets suggesting a good degree of integration but persistent individual market prices above and below national averages as well as seasonality that generally conforms to maize’s main harvest period (Season A). This policy brief provides an overview of maize prices in Rwanda in order to enhance evidence-based policymaking for targeting recommendations aimed at more integrated and stable maize market prices throughout the country. For example, seasonal price changes suggest an annual average price fluctuation of approximately 30 percent and if targeted policies could reduce this seasonal price variation, smallholder welfare would likely be improved.

Year published

2024

Authors

Warner, James; Benimana, Gilberthe Uwera; Mugabo, Serge; Niyonsingiza, Josue; Mukangabo, Emerence; Ingabire, Chantal

Citation

Warner, James; Benimana, Gilberthe Uwera; Mugabo, Serge; Niyonsingiza, Josue; Mukangabo, Emerence; and Ingabire, Chantal. 2024. Rwandan maize market price dynamics: Structure, trends and policy implications. IFPRI Rwanda SSP Policy Note 15. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/152398

Country/Region

Rwanda

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Consumption; Maize; Smallholders; Welfare

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

National Policies and Strategies

Record type

Brief

Resource thumbnail

Brief

Synopsis: Enhancing smallholder farmers’ profitability through increased crop commercialization in Rwanda

2024Mugabo, Serge; Warner, James
Details

Synopsis: Enhancing smallholder farmers’ profitability through increased crop commercialization in Rwanda

This study analyzes the costs, returns, and profitability of smallholder agriculture in Rwanda using a gross margin approach (definitions are provided below) and reveals that over 80 percent of farmers generate positive gross economic margins. However, only around 40 percent achieve positive gross marketing margins from crop sales. This difference is directly attributable to the fact that two-thirds of production is directly consumed by households. The analysis further identifies that farm households allocate about 80 percent of their total crop input expenditures to fertilizer, seed, and hired labor, while the remaining expenses associated with fixed production costs that are almost exclusively related to land rental costs. Furthermore, per hectare analysis reveals decreasing returns to scale for land size, disputing the notion that larger areas lead to efficiency gains. Instead, for example, smaller commercial farmers of less than 0.1 hectare, comprising 5.5 percent of our sample, sell over 50 percent of their crop value. Despite existing trends, this indicates that commercialization can take place on any size land holdings for relative income gains. Additionally, the study highlights the impact of factors like labor decisions and crop choice can significantly influence economic outcomes. The findings suggest that smallholder farming remains economically viable in Rwanda, though market participation is somewhat limited. With appropriate support and risk mitigation, farmers of all land sizes can commercialize production, boost incomes, and enhance household welfare by reorienting towards higher-value market crops.

Year published

2024

Authors

Mugabo, Serge; Warner, James

Citation

Mugabo, Serge; and Warner, James. 2024. Synopsis: Enhancing smallholder farmers’ profitability through increased crop commercialization in Rwanda. Rwanda SSP Policy Note 14. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute.

Country/Region

Rwanda

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Commercialization; Crops; Smallholders; Profitability

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Rethinking Food Markets

Record type

Brief