The value of access to water: Livestock farming in the Nyagatare District, Rwanda

Abstract

In Rwanda, access to water is seen as a significant constraint to development in both urban and rural areas. The government and foreign donors give priority to improving access to water for agricultural use. In this paper we study whether and, if so, to what extent the revenue generated by livestock farming in the Nyagatare District is affected by the distance that cattle need to go in order to reach the nearest water point. Our findings suggest that this distance does not affect the revenue from livestock farming much, indicating that improved access to water is not a major constraint to livestock farming at present. Therefore, other water needs can be given greater weight. © 2013 Niyonzima et al.; licensee Springer.