Crop production and food consumption for farmers' welfare in Rwanda

Agriculture is a source of livelihood for increasing population in the world. It provides mainly food and is expected to avail enough income to farmers and thus improve their livelihood through the increased yield. This study attempted to assess the effects of crop production and food consumption on farmers’ welfare. We used secondary data collected at national level during the Fifth Integrated Household Living Conditions from October 2016 to October 2017. For data analysis, Chi-Square test, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, t test, and ordinary least-squares (OLS) methods were used. The results revealed that the crop output increased with the increase in inputs (labour, fertilizers, pesticides, and seeds). The return to scale of crop production was 1.06, which implies that the crop production system scored increasing returns to scale. The OLS estimates indicated that food consumption was positively influenced by the age and the marital status of the household head, the household size, farm income, land size, crop production, when bean, maize, potato, rice and soybean were the main crops selected by the farmers, while it was negatively affected by the sex of the household head, when coffee and wheat were the crops chosen by the farmers. The results from Pearson’s correlation analysis showed that food consumption was positively and significantly (p=0.00) correlated with family size, farm income, land size, and crop production. With reference to these findings, we recommend that the strategies to increase the crop yield and farm income and thus sustain food consumption and improve farmers’ welfare should be enhanced.