Ernestine, Umutoni
(2017)
Improvement of Commercial Maize Production for Sustainable Economic Development of Farmers in Rukoma Village Ngoma District, Rwanda.
Masters thesis, The Open University of Tanzania.
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine the nature of intervention that can comprehensively enhance the economic situation of the farmers of Rukoma through commercial maize production. An opportunity that seems more of an untapped. Triangulation design was employed in this study because it measures the perception of farmers regarding their economic status, availability of resources for maize commercial production; and the availability of the market. Therefore, key informants incorporated ordinary people in the community: village, cell, sector and district officials as well as professionals from various institutions. In order to understand the real phenomena, self-administered questionnaires were used to measure people‟s economic status and the establishing of the new project under their supervision. The Community Need Assessment revealed that income poverty, was core problem caused by multifactor such concentration on growing of food crops that fetch very little to sustain a family, unreliable market, underutilization of land, lack of entrepreneurial skills, and lack of knowledge on agricultural skills. It was also revealed that agriculture was the community‟s major economic activity and commercial maize production was the priority crop that had untapped potential that would improve the social economic of the rural farmers. Using a participatory method, the farmers were trained on in agricultural skills on how to grow maize including study tours, processing of maize flour and marketing, Results from the present study showed that maize output increased from 1000 Kgs to 1500 Kgs per acre in the first season and it was projected to increase up to 1800 Kgs in the next season.as well as an increase of maize grain sales and access services and support for project implementation. Based on the project goal, objectives and activities planned have been met with exception of mid and annual evaluation that will be done after six months of project implementation. The present finding suggest that improved maize production, processing and marketing may serve as a sustainable way of improving economy and livelihood of farmers in the present study area.
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