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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.

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researcher spotlight

Samuel Benin

Samuel Benin is the Acting Director for Africa in the Development Strategies and Governance Unit. He conducts research on national strategies and public investment for accelerating food systems transformation in Africa and provides analytical support to the African Union’s CAADP Biennial Review.

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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

Gilberthe Benimana

Research Associate

Bio

Gilberthe Uwera Benimana is a Research Associate in the Development Strategies and Governance Unit, based in IFPRI’s Rwanda Office in Kigali. Her research is centered on the intricate relationships among ecosystem dynamics, agricultural transformation, and the establishment of resilient, sustainable food systems. At IFPRI, Gilberthe is instrumental in shaping effective agricultural policies. Her work provides empirically grounded insights into the complexities of the agricultural sector and broader food systems dynamics. Gilberthe holds a Collaborative master’s in agriculture and applied economics (CMAAE) from the University of Nairobi, Kenya, specializing in Agricultural Policy Analysis and International Trade from the University of Pretoria, South Africa.

Development Strategies and Governance

Publications

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Brief

Synopsis: Crop commercialization in Rwanda: Current market participation and drivers

2024Warner, James; Benimana, Gilberthe; Mugabo, Serge; Ingabire, Chantal
Details

Synopsis: Crop commercialization in Rwanda: Current market participation and drivers

As Rwanda emerges from the effects of COVID-19 and global price shocks caused by the Russia/Ukrainian conflict, there is an opportunity to focus on agricultural fundamentals to drive its economic transformation. One aspect of the transformation is how farm households are engaging in crop commercialization. This policy note outlines basic findings and suggested recommendations derived from a 2022 Rwandan commercialization household survey. Our basic unit of analysis is total crop sold divided by total value produced, averaged at either the household or individual crop level. Key findings include:  Approximately 20% of our sampled smallholder households do not sell any crops. However, contrary to a subsistence/commercial farm dichotomy, most households sell on a broad continuum ranging from 1 – 100% with an average of 33% of their total crop production marketed.  Crop value per hectare increases with greater marketed sales, indicating that farmers switch from lower value food crops (e.g. beans, cassava, maize) to cash crops such as fruits and vegetables where they market higher percentages.  Crop value per hectare is not correlated with land size, revealing that crop choices drive value and not increasing land-related economies of scale. This finding underscores the pivotal role of crop selection in determining agricultural productivity and economic returns, rather than mere expansion of land holdings.  Irrigation, land size, hiring labor and input purchases increase market participation as well as percentage of sales. Conversely, a larger family size has a negative effect on both.

Year published

2024

Authors

Warner, James; Benimana, Gilberthe; Mugabo, Serge; Ingabire, Chantal

Citation

Warner, James; Benimana, Gilberthe; Mugabo, Serge; and Ingabire, Chantal. 2024. Synopsis: Crop commercialization in Rwanda: Current market participation and drivers. Rwanda SSP Policy Note 11. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/141779

Country/Region

Rwanda

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Agriculture; Commercialization; Food Crops; Markets; Cash Crops; Food Security; Income; Surpluses

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Fruit and Vegetables for Sustainable Healthy Diets

Record type

Brief

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Working Paper

Synopsis: Agricultural Mechanization in Rwanda

2024Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Benimana, Gilberthe; Spielman, David J.; Warner, James
Details

Synopsis: Agricultural Mechanization in Rwanda

Optimal agricultural mechanization strategies in Rwanda can be better informed by a closer assessment of diverse production environments and experiences in other countries with similar topography. The findings from Rwanda’s latest agricultural surveys, review of recent experiences in countries with rugged terrain and smallholder farming systems similar to Rwanda and reviewing mechanization support strategies from other countries suggest that identifying mechanization technologies suitable for different types of farms, promoting greater private-sector innovations while focusing on the relevant public goods aspect of mechanization is the most promising way forward. Key findings include the following: • Variations in agroecology and cropping systems, irrigated/rainfed systems, farm size, and labor use intensity, among other factors, characterize the key types of mechanization use in Rwanda. • In the medium term, smallholders cultivating rainfed maize and legumes, in addition to irrigated rice, can benefit from the use of tractors, as well as irrigation pumps. • However, farm wages may still be too low and tractor-hiring fees may still be too high in Rwanda to induce a shift to mechanization in the short term. • Policy support for mechanization can focus on improving the understanding of mechanization needs among each type of farmers identified, knowledge of suitable machines, and required skills for their operations and maintenance. • Developing competitive markets and supply networks for promising machines, parts, and repair services at a viable and integrated market scale is also important.

Year published

2024

Authors

Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Benimana, Gilberthe; Spielman, David J.; Warner, James

Citation

Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Benimana, Gilberthe; Spielman, David J.; and Warner, James. 2024. Synopsis: Agricultural Mechanization in Rwanda. Rwanda Strategy Support Program Policy Note 9. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/141775

Country/Region

Rwanda

Keywords

Eastern Africa; Agricultural Mechanization; Smallholders; Farmer Systems; Agroecology; Maize; Rice; Legumes; Irrigation; Remuneration; Markets

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Resource thumbnail

Brief

Synopsis: Identifying farm typologies in Rwandan agriculture: A framework for improving targeted interventions

2024Benimana, Gilberthe; Warner, James; Mugabo, Serge
Details

Synopsis: Identifying farm typologies in Rwandan agriculture: A framework for improving targeted interventions

Research from a recent IFPRI agricultural survey indicates that there is a broad spectrum of commercial engagement by Rwandan farmers. While this continuum is important for understanding commercialization, grouping farmers by relevant commonalities further improves our knowledge of how different groups engage in markets. Moving beyond simple subsistence and commercialized farmer dichotomies, this study provides a more nuanced understanding by grouping smallholder farmers into types, or typologies, based on 35 common characteristics that are both consistent within these groups and relatively diverse between them. Specifically, this analysis identifies five types of Rwandan farmers, in two broad groups, that disaggregates rural households into meaningful categories for varied potential responses to economic opportunities as well as potential strategic interventions.

Year published

2024

Authors

Benimana, Gilberthe; Warner, James; Mugabo, Serge

Citation

Benimana, Gilberthe; Warner, James; and Mugabo, Serge. 2024 Synopsis: Identifying farm typologies in Rwandan agriculture: A framework for improving targeted interventions. Rwanda Strategy Support Program Policy Note 10. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/141776

Country/Region

Rwanda

Keywords

Eastern Africa; Agriculture; Commercialization; Farmers; Markets; Rural Population

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Fruit and Vegetables for Sustainable Healthy Diets

Record type

Brief