The government has launched an agro forestry project aimed at increasing the area under trees to achieve long-term food security.

The project, targeting Gishwati ecosystem and Bugesera district in Western and Eastern provinces, will encourage farmers to plant trees on their farms to improve soil fertility.

The Rwf3.3 billion project, named “Trees for Food Security,” is funded by the Australian International Food Security Centre (AIFSC).

The four-year project has been initiated by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), and is also being carried out in Ethiopia.

It will be extended to Uganda and Burundi by 2014.

Currently, East Africa has about 10 million people facing acute food shortages.

AIFSC’s director Mellissa Wood said the project has attracted an additional funding of $2 million from other donors to ensure success.

“The project initially aims to reach 20,000 households, and following a successful start, we hope to extend results to 200,000 households with support from governments and non-government organisations,” she said.

The project is being implemented by the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) in partnership with Rwanda Agriculture Board (RAB), Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre, International Livestock Research Institute and World Vision.

The partners will focus on soil fertility and land conservation, especially soil erosion caused by poor farming methods.

They will address declining crop productivity, and find low cost alternatives to artificial fertiliser.

Frequent drought linked to climate change have meant about 80 per cent of farmland, is prone to soil erosion and landslides that remove the fertile volcanic topsoil, leaving farmers vulnerable to low yields.

ACIAR’s Forestry Research program manager Tony Bartlett said ICRAF’s research has shown growing trees on farms, using the right species and management practices can help increase crop production by reducing soil erosion and frequent drought.

“Growing the Faidherbia trees offers many benefits, including boosting soil fertility and improves,” he said.