Rwanda’s Land Policy Reform: Self-Employment Perspectives from a Case Study of Kimonyi Sector

Mireille Mizero, Aristide Maniriho, Bosco Bashangwa Mpozi, Antoine Karangwa, Philippe Burny and Philippe Lebailly
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Mireille Mizero: Department of Economy and Rural Development, Faculty of Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège, Passage des Déportés 2, 5030 Gembloux, Belgium
Aristide Maniriho: Department of Economy and Rural Development, Faculty of Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège, Passage des Déportés 2, 5030 Gembloux, Belgium
Bosco Bashangwa Mpozi: Higher Institute of Development Techniques of Mulungu, Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Antoine Karangwa: School of Agriculture & Food Sciences, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, University of Rwanda, Musanze District, Busogo PO BOX 210, Rwanda
Philippe Burny: Department of Economy and Rural Development, Faculty of Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège, Passage des Déportés 2, 5030 Gembloux, Belgium
Philippe Lebailly: Department of Economy and Rural Development, Faculty of Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège, Passage des Déportés 2, 5030 Gembloux, Belgium

Land, 2021, vol. 10, issue 2, 1-17

Abstract: Rwanda’s Land Policy Reform promotes agri-business and encourages self-employment. This paper aims to analyze the situation from a self-employment perspective when dealing with expropriation risk in rural areas. In this study, we conducted a structured survey addressed to 63 domestic units, complemented by focus groups of 47 participants from Kimonyi Sector. The binary logistic regression analysis revealed that having job alternatives, men heading domestic units, literacy skills in English, and owning land lease certificates ( p < 0.05) are positively and significantly related to awareness of land expropriation risk. The decision of the head of the domestic unit to practice the main activity under self-employment status is positively influenced by owning a land lease certificate, number of plots, and French skills, while skills in English and a domestic unit’s size have a positive and significant influence on involvement in a second activity as self-employed. Information on expropriation risk has no significant effect on self-employment. The domestic unit survey revealed that 34.9% of the heads of domestic units only have one job, 47.6% have at least two jobs in their everyday life, 12.7% have a minimum of three jobs, and 4.8% are inactive. The focus group synthesis exposed the limits to self-employment ability and facilities.

Keywords: land reform; self-employment; own account business; rural development; off-farm jobs; literacy skills; Rwanda (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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