- Ms Cousin during one of the upcountry visits
Head of the United Nations World Food
Programme (WFP) Ertharin Cousin has commended the Rwanda’s rural
development initiatives that have improved the lives of Rwandans by
making sure no one goes hungry.
The comments came following her visit
to various projects funded by WFP including Rukozo, Nothern Province
where she visited the Watershed Management Project. Cousin was in Rwanda
for a three day visit.
The Watershed Management Project is working to control soil erosion and creating cultivable land terraces.
She also visited a cooperative that specializes in growing maize and beans in Kirehe District, Eastern Province.
“When speaking with small-scale farmers
and rural families, I could see very clearly the difference that rural
development initiatives have made in helping people improve their lives.
I met one woman farmer who started with
nearly nothing, and now has become so successful that she’s been able
to build her family a new house, and put her children though school,”
narrated Cousin.
“The progress that is being made on
development in Rwanda illustrates the importance of close and effective
partnerships between UN agencies, communities and governments in helping
people lift themselves out of poverty,” she said
The WFP chief also visited Girinka (One
Cow Per Poor Family) beneficiaries to see how giving cows to the poorest
families have helped fight malnutrition especially among children, have
provided opportunities to earn income, as well as increased fertility
of farm land.
WFP provided 300 cows in support of
Girinka in January 2011 and a further five cows were donated this month
during Cousin’s visit.
WFP also partners with the Rwandan
government on various development programs including feeding primary
school children, fighting acute malnutrition, linking farmers to
markets, as well as providing support for the Rwanda’s food security
analyses.
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