In the low-lying wetlands of eastern Rwanda, where rice paddies stretch across the Gacaca marshland, frustration is rising among hundreds of farmers who say an incomplete government dam project is costing them dearly.
More than 1,900 farmers organized under the Dutere Imbere Murundi Cooperative cultivate over 300 hectares of developed marshland in Murundi Sector, Kayonza District. The land was rehabilitated years ago under the Rural Sector Support Project (RSSP), bringing irrigation channels, leveling, and improved productivity. But one critical piece of infrastructure a second artificial dam meant to regulate excess water was never completed.
Today, farmers say that unfinished project has turned into a recurring threat.
“When the water level rises, it spills into the area where the second dam was supposed to be built,” said Anastase Nkomeje, president of the cooperative, standing at the edge of a waterlogged field. “It floods our rice and destroys it. When the sun comes out and the water drains away, we also suffer because we don’t have enough stored water for irrigation. Last season alone, we lost 40 tons.”
The cooperative currently relies on a single dam to irrigate the entire marshland. During heavy rains, runoff flows unchecked into lower sections of the fields. During dry spells, the lone reservoir cannot sustain consistent irrigation across all plots.
For farmers like Fidele Twagirimana, the problem is no longer seasonal it is structural.
“When water levels drop in the only dam we have, it cannot supply the entire marshland,” he explained. “Some of us cannot plant at all. But when heavy water comes from the area that was prepared for the second dam, it floods nearly 40 hectares. We watch our rice drown.”
On the ground, the damage is visible. Clumps of yellowing rice stalks bend under stagnant water in some plots, while cracked soil in others tells the story of uneven irrigation. Farmers move carefully between narrow embankments, pointing to sections where yields have sharply declined.
Rice farming in this part of Kayonza is not simply a livelihood it is a lifeline. The Dutere Imbere Murundi Cooperative, established in 2013, produces around 1,800 tons of rice each season. Its 1,914 members depend on the harvest for income, school fees, and household stability.
The cooperative has also built a reputation for social solidarity. It operates an internal system where school fees for members’ children are paid in advance, with deductions made after rice sales. That model has helped keep hundreds of children in school.
But repeated losses are straining that system.
“When production falls, everything is affected,” Nkomeje said. “School payments, loan repayments, even basic family needs. Agriculture is our backbone.”
Seraphine Nyiranzabonimana, a farmer from Macuba village in Murundi Cell, said the flooding is especially harsh for those farming plots closest to the uncompleted reservoir site.
“There is nothing to block or redirect the water,” she said quietly. “When it rains heavily, it just rushes down into our fields. Sometimes you know you will lose the crop even before harvest.”
Her four children depend on the income from her rice harvest. When yields drop, she must borrow money from neighbors or reduce household spending.
Across Rwanda, rice production has been a strategic focus for improving food security and reducing imports. Marshland development projects like RSSP transformed many previously underutilized wetlands into productive agricultural zones. In Kayonza, farmers acknowledge that those interventions significantly boosted yields over the past decade.
However, climate variability is adding new pressure. Periods of intense rainfall followed by dry spells have made water management more complex. Without adequate storage and regulation infrastructure, farmers are left exposed to extremes on both ends.
Vice Mayor of Kayonza District in charge of economic development, Fred Hategekimana, confirmed that local authorities are aware of the situation.
“We have identified the issue and recognized that this marshland needs expansion and improved water control,” he said. “In partnership with the KIIWP project, feasibility studies for constructing the second dam have been completed. If nothing changes, we expect construction to begin next month, and we will also expand the cultivated area.”
The proposed project aims not only to prevent flooding but also to increase irrigated acreage, potentially boosting production beyond the current 330 hectares.
For farmers, however, timelines matter.
“We have heard promises before,” Twagirimana said. “We are hopeful, but we need action. Every season that passes without a solution means more losses.”
Agricultural experts note that incomplete infrastructure projects can undermine long-term rural development gains. Irrigation systems are designed as integrated networks; when one component is missing, the entire structure becomes vulnerable.
In Gacaca marshland, the missing dam has effectively created a hydrological imbalance. During peak rains, excess water has no containment basin. During dry periods, water retention capacity is insufficient. The result is a cycle of unpredictability that erodes farmer confidence.
Despite the setbacks, planting continues. This week, cooperative members gathered early in the morning to transplant young rice seedlings into prepared plots. Some fields shimmered under shallow water, reflecting the pale sky. Others waited for irrigation channels to refill.
“We cannot stop farming,” Nyiranzabonimana said. “It is what we know. It is how we survive.”
Local leaders believe the new investment, if implemented as planned, could restore stability. Expanding the marshland and constructing the second reservoir would allow better distribution of water, protect vulnerable plots, and increase overall output.
For a cooperative that has become a pillar of the Murundi community, that stability is critical.
Rice farming here supports not just individual households but local markets, school systems, and transport networks. During harvest season, trucks line up along dirt roads to collect sacks of milled rice destined for regional buyers.
When harvests shrink, the ripple effects are felt far beyond the marshland.
As Rwanda continues to prioritize agricultural modernization, farmers in Kayonza say their experience highlights the importance of completing projects fully and on schedule.
“We appreciate the support that developed this marshland,” Nkomeje said. “But development must be finished. A half-built solution creates new problems.”
With construction potentially set to begin next month, hope mingles with cautious expectation. If the second dam rises where the land was once cleared, farmers believe the Gacaca marshland could reclaim its full potential.
Until then, they remain at the mercy of the weather watching the skies, measuring water levels, and counting losses season by season.
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