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| Project Name: | Muyinga Livelihood Project |
| Project Description: |
Agricultural activities have resumed in most of Muyinga province with the improved security situation. However, the effects of drought and limited access to productive assets and improved seeds place a significant number of households at a disadvantage, and limit their ability to begin the process of recovery. With most traditional coping mechanisms exhausted, households are dependent upon international humanitarian assistance, remaining assets and the families' ability to secure food on a day-to-day basis. The assessment reports (mentioned above) noted that many women prepare one meal a day of cassava paste and Lenga Lenga, a green vegetable found in the wetlands or marshlands. The men in some areas have resorted to poaching in game reserves, and theft in gardens and crop fields is common resulting in increased tensions within communities. Farmers reportedly spend the night in their fields watching over their crops. Food insecurity remains to be a critical problem. About 20-30% of people from the communes neighboring Burundi and Tanzania have chosen to cross the boarder to register as refugees, where they can survive on the food aid ration supplied by WFP/UNHCR. In many families at least one able person is forced to temporarily migrate to neighboring provinces in search of work in exchange for food a coping mechanism locally known as Guca Ingero. However, with the poor economic situation of surrounding provinces, it is very difficult to find employment. Many households reported that men and boys were traveling to the prefecture of Kibungo in Rwanda to work in gardens, or to bake bricks. The civil war has restricted access to farmland for a significant proportion of internally displaced people. A working document issued by UNHCR in October 2001 states that the number of IDPs from the target communes (Butihinda and Giteranyi) are 9,481. It is generally accepted that while some internally displaced persons in almost all sites are engaged in some sort of agricultural activity, the majority are not. Those who have land manage to cultivate their fields only two to three times a week, often at high personal risk and/or under military escort. As a result, a significant percentage of the displaced populations are highly dependent on external food assistance. Seed yields have declined as a result of the war and population displacement. For example, bean yields have dropped to as low as 300 kg from 800 kg per ha. There has been a remarkable genetic degeneration of resistance to disease and insect attacks as well as climatic and agronomic stresses. The provision of extension services have significantly weakened as the Ministry of Agriculture (DPAE) resources have been reduced due to GOB budget cuts. Although security remains an ongoing problem, the governments of Burundi and Tanzania are encouraging refugees living in Tanzania to return home. Between January and October 2002, a total of 16,761 refugees have returned to Muyinga (1,275 to Butihinda and 9,258 to Giteryani ). It is, therefore envisaged that there will be large numbers of returnees if the security situation improves. The origin of refugees who left Burundi before 1993 is not known. When these refugees return, it is expected that they will be without land for a considerable amount of time, and thus will experience difficulties of reintegration. In cases where local authorities will be allocating land to returnees, it might frequently be marginal land. This will limit families' chances of attaining food self-sufficiency within the shortest possible time. In June 2002, CARE Burundi completed a rights-based and household livelihood security study in two communes of Muyinga province (Butihinda and Giteranyi). The objective of the study was to integrate a rights perspective into livelihood assessment. The findings of the assessment highlighted several rights issues. More specifically, the assessment shows that traditionally women cannot own or inherit land , local authorities illegally expropriate land from vulnerable and marginalized groups (for example, poor women heads of households and the Batwa) without compensation, and there is no clear policy/legislation defining the criteria and modalities of land distribution. Hence, land is inequitably distributed. For example, the extremely poor Batwa (one of the three ethnic groups in Burundi) are often systematically excluded or denied from permanently owning land.Furthermore, the study highlighted that land is rarely distributed to the more vulnerable and certain practices of corruption allow the well connected, and the wealthy to benefit. Systematic expulsion, fraudulent/coercive purchase of land , exploitation of poor farmers' crop fields by the rich are rampant.
CARE Burundi proposes an integrated approach for enhancing agricultural production and economic security. The following framework provides the major and potential components of integrated (multi-sectoral) interventions for improving the livelihood of people in Butihinda and Giteranyi communes of Muyinga province. The various interventions will be implemented in two watersheds that encompass adjacent geographic areas and representing the profile of the target population. |
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