THE URGENCY OF LAND AND AGRARIAN REFORM IN RWANDA

Abstract

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 culminated in the events of 1994. Since then, new groups have entered the competition for land. Decisions concerning land and agrarian reform will unavoidably benefit some groups within this fragmented society while disadvantaging others. This article approaches the land problem from two perspectives: first, by situating its socio-economic dimension in a deeper historical context and second, by considering it as a specifically contemporary socio-political problem. The article discusses the latest proposals for land and agrarian reform. While pressure on land has, over time, weakened social bonds, it remains doubtful whether the govemment has the political strength in the present unstable national and regional political climate to carry out ie necessary reinforcement of communal bonds which economic development appears to require. IF RWANDA is to evolve towards a more stable future, the urgency with which the country's land problem demands action cannot be overemphasised. In addition to being one of the most pressing problems, the issue of land is also perhaps the most complex-being absorbed by (and coming to embody) the various economic, social and political challenges facing present-day Rwanda. Not only have war and genocide left the country's economy ravaged, but it is now clearer than ever that agriculture can no longer provide for the livelihood of a population which is increasing so dramatically. Land has become the scarce production factor in an economy where access to non-agrarian sources of income is very limited. Furthermore, limits on the availability of land are endangering the conditions for the reproduction of cuxTent agrarian production systems. In chis context of scarcity, land tenure systems have resulted in The author is a researcher at the Brussels Centre of African Studies (BCAS). Material for this article has been collected during two separate field trips to Rwanda in 1997 and early 1998. The author wishes to thank the Fund for Scientific Research (FWO) and the Research Council of the Free University of Brussels (VUB) who made funds available to carry out this research. She has also been privileged to benefit from the comments of Johan Pottier (SOAS) regarding the article. The views expressed, however, remain her own.