LES PETITS AGRICULTEURS FACE À LA MODERNISATION RURALE DANS LA PROVINCE DU NORD DU RWANDA : CONSOLIDATION DE L’USAGE DES TERRES, DISTRIBUTION D’INTRANTS AMÉLIORÉS ET SÉCURITÉ ALIMENTAIRE

In 2007, Rwanda embarked on an ambitious agricultural modernization program aimed at increasing the productivity of the country‘s primary sector. The most important policy instrument adopted for the aim of agricultural modernization is the Crop Intensification Program (CIP). The CIP is based on four axes: the consolidation of land use, the distribution of improved inputs (chemical fertilizers and improved seeds), extension services and post-harvest handling and storage systems. Based on a mixed quantitative-qualitative research in two settings of study in the Northern Province of Rwanda, this paper ails at exploring the effects of the CIP on the strategies of natural resources management and food security of Rwandan smallholder farmers. Data analysis shows that agricultural modernization policies take place in an environment already dense with economic and ecological relations, demanding a process of adaption to the producers who take part in the program. This article is concerned with ways in which such adaptations may cause partial failings of the food entitlement systems in two settings of study. Through a discussion of the impact of modernization policy on producers’ food security, we aim at highlighting the main constraints faced by smallholder farmers in the context of the CIP