The Effect of Livestock Production on Poor and Smallholder Farmers’ Income in Rwanda. Case of ‘One Cow One Family Program’

The paper analyzes the effect of rise in the number of livestock, cattle, on poor smallholder farmers’ income in Rwanda through milk production and manure use as fertilizer. It collects primary data from both households that have received a cow and those on the waiting list of the program. By using PSM, the paper estimates crop difference between treated and control group as a function of manure use. Firstly, the result shows that there is a difference between the two groups in terms of crop production. However, the difference is displayed for limited crops. Land scarcity is a constraint for households to cultivate all these crops displaying difference; hence, lowering the effect of the program. Crop difference is small for the third quintile of land cultivated; hence, it casts light on the effect of the program for small landholders. Secondly, milk production does not cover the cost of feeding, specifically for the local breed called Ankole; thus, households resort to other means of feeding their cows. The cost of cow rearing affects the benefit from milk and the aggregate effect is lowered too. The most affected are households with less than 0.75 Ha which have benefited from Ankole cows. Thus, it highlights the implication of socio-economic conditions for gaining from any anti-poverty program. -- Relevance to Development Studies -- This paper contributes to development studies through its analysis of crop-livestock combination among poor and smallholder farmers by stressing on how it affects household’s income. Analyzed separately, livestock and crop production can hide some important information to be considered for policies enhancement. The paper contributes by shedding light on the relationship between croplivestock integration, smallholder farming, income and poverty. It highlights some facts for policies makers to break the poverty trap especially in rural areas.