Felicite Umwanzintabakure, a farmer and resident of Gashinyi sector in Gakenke District, knows a thing or two about the effects of dry spells and floods, given that she has faced the challenges.

"We would till and plant but after some months, dry spells would wither all the crops. When there is food insecurity in the family, women and children are most affected. It sometimes triggers conflict since some men leave their families and women remain struggling to get food for their children,” she said.

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According to figures from Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board, only four per cent of arable land (any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops) is irrigated in Rwanda.

Umwanzintabakure, whose household is among the many affected by dry spells, was supported and trained on climate resilience mechanisms by the government and its partners.

"We were trained on rainwater harvesting to get water for irrigation. My family has beaten food insecurity and there are no conflicts. My husband hails me because I contribute a lot to the family’s development,” she said, adding that they also managed to build decent housing.

Umwanzintabakure has a rainwater harvesting dam which she constructed using some years ago.

"I got the rainwater harvesting tank under government subsidy. It costs Rwf800, 000 but I paid Rwf400, 000 only. I also bought a pumping machine to irrigate. The government paid 50 per cent of the cost for me since it requires Rwf350, 000 without subsidies,” she said.

Currently, thanks to irrigation, she told The New Times that she harvests 400 kilogrammes of maize on a piece of land where she used to harvest only 100 kilogrammes when she had no irrigation means.

Dry spells during the season that starts from September to January affected over 80,000 hectares of beans across the country, but Umwanzintabakure, a smallholder farmer, was not affected. "During the agricultural season that is concluding, many households counted losses due to lack of irrigation, but I got a good harvest thanks to the rainwater harvesting dam.”

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"Thanks to irrigation, my crops survived. Climate change mostly affects women and children because children usually ask for food from women. Women do a lot of domestic work, have to prepare food, collect firewood and take care of the children,” she added.

She testified that some men abandon their families during calamities, such as dry spells, and leave women to go at it alone.

"That is why climate resilience mechanisms such as rainwater harvesting for irrigation are needed for women in agriculture. It reduces women’s reliance on men,” she said.

Some men went to Kigali to look for jobs, said Jean Marie Vianney, a resident of Gakenke District. "Others go looking for women who have money after a crisis in their own homes. When there is food insecurity in the family, conflicts usually occur,” he said.

Coping with river base flooding

Besides dry spells, many areas are vulnerable to flooding in Gakenke District, and other parts of the country.

Umwanzintabakure is a member of the maize, Irish potato and beans farming cooperative that used to make losses due to floods caused by river base.

She said that two years ago, a big part of the valley with maize was submerged by the river floods.

"We managed to construct terraces and plant agro-forestry to reduce floods and soil erosion in the river base. We also construct water channels in the valley that was once prone to flooding. We also embraced crop insurance,” she said.

Umwanzintabakure is also the president of a group of 70 women that grow vegetables on 1.5 hectares where drainage of water has eliminated the issue of flooding.

"We grow French beans, cabbages, carrots, amaranth, and others. We also got support to irrigate during the dry season,” she said.

Green jobs for women

According to Aime Francois Niyonsenga, Vice Mayor in charge of Economic Development in Gakenke District, although the district doesn’t have many partners in climate resilience projects, a few have given green jobs to a big number of women.

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"There is a Rwf774 million project funded by UNDP through Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) which started last year in September, to reduce erosion and floods that overflow rivers. Besides building climate resilience, it has given jobs to 586 women and 477 men.

"They were also trained in climate resilience farming. The government also allocates a budget every year to construct terraces which boost the agricultural productivity, the sector that employs many women,” Niyonsenga said.

Under the new project, 200 hectares will have terraces in two sectors, he said, while rivers that were flooding crops will be conserved.

"Women are committed and do not misspend resources of the family. That is why they are prioritised during such climate resilience projects as they are most affected by climate change effects. They are managing to save for the ‘Ejo Heza’ scheme and health insurance in addition to feeding their families,” he said.

A report released at the Bonn Climate Change Conference in June last year says that in some African countries, for example, many men are migrating from rural to urban areas to find employment, a trend driven by extreme weather events, leaving women behind in charge of land and the household, but not necessarily with the respective legal rights or social authority to do so.

It said gender-based violence is prevalent in areas of conflict that are also more at risk of experiencing extreme weather events.