Rwanda - Nasho Irrigation Project
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Case Studies
All You Need To Know About Nasho Irrigation Project Inaugurated By President Kagame
This morning, President Paul Kagame and billionaire and philanthropist Howard G. Buffett, drove to Nasho – Kirehe district in Eastern Province to inaugurate the Nasho Solar-powered Irrigation Project funded by the Howard G. Buffett Foundation.
The project includes pivot irrigation systems serving 2099 small scale farmers, a 3.3 MW solar power plant and a model village of 144 houses.
The project was established with objectives to improve on-farm productivity through investments in proper land, water, and inputs utilization for enhanced food security among farmers, and to ensure access to and adoption of technologies that enhances agriculture value chains and conserve the soil.
Nasho Irrigation Scheme is made of 63 center pivots irrigation system, irrigating 1,173 hectares belonging to about 2,000 smallholder farmers.
The project which started operation since the agriculture season 2017A, is a consortium of the government of Rwanda and the Howard G. Buffet Foundation (HGBF). It was established to modernize Rwanda’s agriculture sector and specifically to improve smallholder farmers’ livelihoods.
Rwanda’s agriculture sector contributes over 35% of the GDP and employs more than 85% of Rwandan population.
At the $54 million Nasho Irrigation Project, a center pivot irrigation technology has helped surrounding farmers improve their livelihoods by enabling them to grow crops all year round, and allowing for a more efficient use of inputs, such as water and fertilizer, and by enhancing the yields and quality of the crops they grow.
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