This thesis was aimed at the development of a Geographical Information System (GIS) based model to support the Rwanda Land Use and Development Master Plan. Developing sustainable land management is the main task of this master plan. Stakeholder’s involvement was of key importance. Their demands should be analysed and visualised to support discussions and the decision-making process. Spatial Multicriteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) is a proven method for land-use planning purposes. However, most land-use planning applications focus on a specific theme, such as urban development.

Butare, where this study was conducted, exhibits one of the highest population densities in Rwanda. As a direct result of population growth, most peasants have small fields and land fragmentation is common. The purpose of this article is to examine the effect of land fragmentation on economic efficiency. Regression analysis shows that area operated is primarily determined by the population-land ratio, non- agricultural employment opportunities, ownership certainty and adequate information through agricultural training.

This chapter accomplishes several purposes, in which it shares the reader the theoretical orientation and empirical evidences of numerous studies that are closely related to the issues being raised in this study. It deals with the review of theoretical and empirical literature mainly related to rural poverty and livelihoods. In doing so, the chapter intentionally includes discussions on a wider scale to look at pertinent literature from many sub-Saharan African countries and beyond that have some resonance to better understand and relate the Ethiopian case to the wider literature.

This paper summarizes the backround, presentations, and outcomes of a workshop organized by Rwanda Initiative for Sustainable Development in partnership with Oxfam Great Britain on land use and villagisation in Rwanda.

The aim of the present paper is to investigate whether households relocated to government- built village settlements, as part of Rwanda’s Villagisation programme (‘Imidugudu’), diversify into non-farm income-generating activities to a greater extent than other rural households in Rwanda, and if so, to what extent the variation can be explained by differences in micro-level asset and meso-level access factors.

The paper is a product of a short term consultancy work offered by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for the Ministry of Lands, Environment Forestry, Water and Mines of Rwanda. The paper focuses on the relationship between land reform, poverty reduction and sustainable development. It is grounded in the current process of implementing a land law and policy in Rwanda. The thrust of the discussion is pillared on a number of interrelated arguments.

Government of Rwanda has set out its long and medium term objectives for economic development and poverty reduction in its Vision 2020 and its Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS). A wide ranging reform of land tenure and land management forms a central part of Rwanda’s strategy to meet those objectives. To realise these objectives, the Ministry has developed a Strategic Road Map for Land Tenure Reform as a framework for implementation of the National Land Policy and the Organic Law determining the use and the management of land in Rwanda.

Prior to the 1994 war, Rwanda had one of the best agricultural data bases on the African continent with a consistent time series on production, area, and yield data spanning the period from 1984 through 1992. This data base, drawn from annual surveys of a nationally representative random sample of approximately 1,240 farm households, was supplemented with a variety of specialized surveys conducted intermittently on topics such as input use, livestock production, natural resource management practices, non-farm income, etc.

The majority of rural Rwandans are dependent on land for their livelihoods. Recognizing the critical nature of land to peace, stability, and economic development, Rwanda began implementing the Land Tenure Regularisation Process (LTRP) in 2008. While the Rwanda government has made highly commendable efforts in implementing the LTRP, some challenges have been faced, including a challenge whereby landowners only came to learn about the requirement of paying land lease at the time of collecting the Ownership Documents.

The challenges which lie ahead for post-genocide Rwanda's economic, social and political development are closely related through the issue of land. The pressure from a high rate of population growth, added to the paucity of economic opportunities outside the agricultural sector, is forcing people off the land and into poverty. Society is under extreme stress. Over the last decade the fabric of Rwandan society has been torn, resulting in ethnic and social divisions which culminpted in the events of 1994. Since then, new groups have entered the competition for land.

In a context of globalization and liberalization, Africa is increasingly confronted with the commercialization of its space. Various large-scale actors, including international private investors, investor states, and local entrepreneurs, are constantly seeking to expand their land holdings for the production of food crops or biofuels. This article presents two Rwandan case studies and analyzes how large-scale land acquisition by foreign and local elite players affects local livelihoods.

Up to one quarter of the world’s population is estimated to be landless, including 200 million people living in rural areas,1 and approximately 75% of the world’s population living in extreme poverty (less than $1/day) live in rural areas.2 According to the Food and Agriculture Agency of the United Nations (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)), “rural landlessness is often the best predictor of poverty and hunger.”3 “While not the only pathway out of poverty, ample evidence suggests that access to land is effective in helping rural households generate higher income