The author, senior planner at the Development Study Center in Rehovot, describes an integrated regional rural development plan by Israelis, MASHAV in conjunction with CINADCO and DSC, in Rwanda.

Development planning is a vocation like no other. In contrast to most other occupations, our clients are "the people," generally the poorest of the poor. For most other "development" occupations the clients are government agencies, international development organizations, NGOs or private corporations. The final customer of the development planner is the local inhabitant: the struggling farmer and his family, the urban squatter, the poor woman or sick, uneducated child. Remuneration might be paid by other institutions. But the plan is always oriented towards the specific disadvantaged target group, the beneficiaries.

Consequently, as a professional working and specializing in rural development planning, the chance to contribute my expertise, experience and time for the benefit of returning refugees in Rwanda was a challenge I could not ignore.

Rwanda (the "Land of a Thousand Hills") is one of the poorest countries in the world. In 1991, its annual per capita income was $200 USD. Since then it has only declined. This landlocked piece of land is also one of the world's most densely populated, where 7 million people occupy 26.338 square km. (slightly larger than Israel). Over 90% of the population live in rural areas and scrape a living from subsistence farming.

During 1994, one of the most terrible catastrophes shocked the world, when, in a matter of 100 terrible days, the Hutu tribe of Rwanda (a majority of 85% at the time) fell upon the Tutsi (15% but socio-economically dominant) and massacred an estimated one million people. An additional two million refugees fled to Tanzania, Uganda and Congo (then Zaire). Millions more were internally displaced, becoming refugees in their own country.

Michael Gorelik and Joseph Zamsky, with herd of local cattle

At the end of the bloody civil war the Tutsis prevailed. Now it was the turn of hundreds of thousands of Hutus to flee. Many refugees, some living abroad for almost 30 years, returned and resettled in Rwanda. All of these social and economic upheavals only worsened the already difficult problems of overpopulation, over cultivation, overgrazing and soil erosion.

This is exactly the point at which Israeli know how and experience can and should be applied. After the civil war, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through MASHAV, the Center for International Cooperation, pledged its assistance in the resettlement efforts of the struggling Rwandan government and other international organizations. The initial proposal was for the establishment of a complete and sustainable village for returning refugees, a project that will be regarded as a model, and applied in other resettlement efforts.

The Rwandan Ministry of Agriculture made an official appeal to MASHAV who in turn called upon CINADCO, the Center for International Agricultural Development Cooperation of the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture. The Rwandan authorities emphasized the need for integrated rural development that considers all relevant subsectors in addition to agriculture. Hence, I was selected as the team leader of a multi disciplinary planning team.

In my capacity as senior planner in the Development Study Center (DSC), I frequently travel to developing countries to assist and consult in development projects, very often in Africa. The DSC specializes in training, planning and consulting in Integrated Regional Rural Development Planning, specifically for developing regions. As such, the staff of the DSC has accumulated invaluable expertise and professional experience in numerous training and planning projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

In order to better understand the requirements of the project, especially regarding the staffing of the planning team, I traveled to the area for an initial one-week trip. During this mission, the scope and parameters of the development plan were drafted, as well as the basic composition of the planning team and its terms of reference.

The Author confers with villagers

joint decision was to formulate a plan and establish a model village for returning refugees. The site chosen was Gasinga, in Umutara region, in the north of the country, not far from the borders of Uganda and Tanzania. To this area, characterized by a hilly savannah landscape, the refugees returned from Uganda in 1995, settling haphazardly in mud huts. Upon my return to Israel, the final preparations were conducted. The planning team was selected. The team included Moshe Gazit, a water resources development engineer and a World Bank veteran, Joseph Zamsky from the Ministry of Agriculture, an agricultural economist and expert on animal husbandry, and Moshe Zelazny from the Ministry of Agriculture, an agronomist and field crops and vegetables expert. In addition to my capacity as team leader, I took upon myself the elaboration and planning of all non-agricultural aspects of the plan, including infrastructure, resettlement, housing and regional planning considerations.

In December 1998 the team landed in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. During the first two days, meetings, discussions and consultations were held with many relevant officials and government representatives, beginning with the Minister of State for Agriculture and his deputies, as well as practically all department heads in the Ministry and other government agencies.

Standing: Alfred Mutebwa, Director of Rural Development, Ministry of Agriculture. Sitting, left to right: Joseph Zamsky, Fabianne Kajeje, Counsellor of Gasinga Village, Moshe Gazig, Moshe Zelazny, Michael Gorelik, Laurent Mwikagaro, Director of Agriculture in Umutara

Subsequently, trips and visits to the proposed site were arranged. Surveys were conducted in order to assess the economic potential of the area. Interviews with the potential settlers and local leaders were conducted. It was at this stage that the poor situation of the returning refugees became evident.

Although Muvumba River, a major year round waterway passes less then two Km. from the site, its waters are not utilized. All agriculture, typified by subsistence farming with small-scale staple crops is rain fed. Water for drinking and cooking have to be fetched, by foot, from the river. Each round trip, generally by the women, takes an hour, with 2-3 trips being conducted daily.

Since most villagers arrived from Uganda where land and water enabled the upkeep of large cattle herds, here in Rwanda, the overpopulation of cattle caused overgrazing and severe soil erosion.

Most farmers do not have the know how, the capital, motivation or support systems in order to invest in larger parcels of land and better technology, thus increasing their income.

Upon completion of the field visits and surveys, the team returned to Kigali. In the next few days, each of us worked independently, formulating programs and plans that were best suited to rectify and better the shortcomings identified in "his" sector.

Hence, Moshe Gazit, the water resources engineer, elaborated a plan for the transportation and elevation of water from the river to the village. His challenge was to produce a feasible and viable system that would provide sufficient water at an affordable price.

Joseph Zamsky, conceived a proposal that included a detailed program for improvement of the cattle breed through gradual cross breeding with high yielding Holsteins, increase in milk production, and herd reduction. Moshe Zelazny set out the farm plan regarding field crops, introduction of better technology and agricultural practices.

It was my task to consider all geographical and physical aspects of the proposed village site, design a tentative physical lay out plan and consider regional aspects and proposals for services provision to the future villagers. At this stage each expert worked individually, trying to rationalize income-generating activities and maximize farm income.

The next stage included the formulation of the integrated plan. At this phase all four of us, jointly, elaborated the final development plan for the village. Certain modifications were required in the sectoral programs, in order to devise a well balanced and feasible plan. For instance, water supply could only be elevated to a certain altitude due to financial considerations. This necessitated concurrent adjustmin the livestock and field crop activities regarding the amount of water available and the size of potential land for cultivation. Reducing the amount of cattle per household was another complicated matter, since the number of cattle per family is not only an economic issue, but has deep traditional roots.

Deliberations with local sociologists were therefore arranged. All sub sectors were considered: agriculture, livestock, vegetables and field crops, industrial activities, public service provision, infrastructure, water provision and marketing. One of the basic tenets of the project plan was that it would be financially feasible at both regional and farm levels. This means that although funding for initial investments will be required from external sources (government and international) operational expenditures and sustainable renewal of equipment are planned to be financed by the farmer.

The final plan calls for the establishment of an 80 household settlement with identical plots of land per household. Agriculture will be practiced through a mixed farming system that will combine irrigated field crops with mixed breed cattle rearing and milk production. Each household will receive 4,000m3 of water annually for both irrigation and livestock. Each family will be allocated an identical 3 hectare parcel of land. One hectare will be irrigated, with O.5 hectare of the irrigated area being used for intensive cropping patterns using irrigation and fertilizer (fertigation, according to the Israeli methods).

Introduction of new crops will be enhanced with the backing and support of improved extension services. The other 0.5 hectare of irrigated land as well as the rain fed will be used for fodder for the cattle. Each household will decrease and improve its current herd to approximate 5 dairy cows producing an average of 13,000 liters of milk per farm yearly. This means an annual milk production of 2,500 liters per cow, way above the current meager amount estimated at 250. This will be achieved through gradual improvement of nutrition for the animals and cross breeding with pure Holstein breeds. The final crossbreed herd will achieve superior milk production, while maintaining disease resilience.

The program calls for the concurrent, phased and integrated development of the following aspects: water delivery, livestock and field crops, infrastructure, physical planning and services. Specific proposals are presented regarding crop rotation, use of suitable mechanization, marketing and soil conservation. Upon completion of the first draft, it was presented to the senior officials and decision-makers in the Rwandan Ministry of Agriculture. At our request, we held a meeting with the General Secretary of the Ministry as well as most of the department heads. We presented our findings and a tentative summary of the proposals. This was followed by a conducive discussion, in which creative ideas were raised resulting in positive modifications to the plan.

Before leaving this beautiful but tormented country, we knew we had one more obligation. All of us felt that as Israelis we could not leave Rwanda without observing, first hand, the locations of the genocide and massacres. Many are kept as remembrance monuments. All are horrifying and shocking. This was a poignant and touching experience that stressed the importance of our assignment.

Upon the return of the team to Israel, the plan was finalized and published. MASHAV and CINADCO have forwarded it to the relevant authorities in Rwanda. At this stage the Rwandan authorities are submitting the project for evaluation and possible funding to international organizations.

Bit of History

Israel, still a new, struggling nation in 1958, having gained independence in 1948, was already thinking of sharing expertise in development.

Jerusalem, March 11, 1958
To:
The Director General of the Office of Foreign Affairs,
Mr. Eytan
The Director General of the Department of
Agriculture, Mr. Levy

Dear Sirs,

Re: Seminar for the staff of instructors for courses for village administrators for African and Asian countries Further to our discussions of the above, I hereby propose that we hold a meeting attended by the three of us so as to summarize our mutual stand regarding the establishment of a permanent seminar for village administrators for Asian and African countries.

In the Settlement Dept.it has recently come to be realized that it is within our capability to establish and maintain such a seminar at a high level. The aim of the seminar will be to train a staff of village administrators who will be able to bring to their countries the knowledge and experience accumulated in Israel on matters of settlement.

This is a matter of great importance from various obvious aspects. If we are indeed successful in holdisuch a seminar we will be able to establish an international institute for the field of settlement for Asian and African countries, similar to the Institute established for Western countries in Wacheningen by the Dutch. I would be grateful to Mr. Eytan if he would undertake to schedule such a meeting as soon as possible.

Sincerely yours,
Ra'anan Weitz

Gershon Fradkin, later the founder of the Foreign Training Dept. of the Ministry of Agriculture, the forerunner of CINADCO, was in Wacheningen that year and responded to Weitz's request prepare an outline for such courses.

July 15, 1958
Dear Ra'anan,

I have received your letter and hereby send you the main outline of the program.

Aim of the course: to prepare administrative workers and agricultural instructors.

The program will include: organization of work; extension; agricultural subjects in general; social studies; practical work and field trips. Number of participants: 20-25 students from such countries as Burma, Nigeria, India, Ghana and Israel.

Language of instruction: English.

Length of course: One month, including 10 days of practical work and field trips.

Instructors: Instructors will be drawn from the Settlement Department and the Department of Agriculture, with the addition of two lecturers from abroad: Dr. Yang of the FAO and Prof. Ogonshi from Nigeria.

Written material: All written material will be prepared beforehand in English.

Opening of first course: Suggest August 1959.

Funding of the course: Study fee paid by participants of course; Departments of

Agriculture and Settlement; Offices of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister; participation of the FAO.

Responsible for course: The Settlement Department. The general program will be drawn up in accordance with the special conditions prevailing in the countries of participants.

Sincerely yours,
Gershon Fradkin

The first course was indeed held in Rehovot that year!

Professor Ra'anan Weitz, the Development Study Center (DSC) and the "Rehovot Approach"

The "Rehovot Approach" to Integrated Regional Development Planning is a comprehensive and creative regional development methodology that has been developed and promoted by the DSC and its late founder and Chairman of the Board, Ra'anan Weitz.

Weitz was born in Rehovot in 1913. In 1937 he received his PhD from the University of Florence. From that year onwards and until his death in 1998, he was involved in practically all major agricultural development and resettlement efforts in Israel. During his extensive career spanning 47 years in the Settlement Department of the Jewish Agency, he began as a regional extension agent in the Beit Shean Valley, assuming greater responsibility and authority in various planning and development activities, until he was elected head of the Settlement Department by the then Prime Minister, Levy Eskol.

As the Department head, all national and regional rural development policies and projects were channeled through his office. The success of the new migrants' absorption in the country and Israel's internationally acclaimed achievements in rural and agricultural development is due, to a large part, to Professor Weitz.

In 1963 he established the Development Study Center (DSC) and headed it until his death. The DSC is an independent academic institution engaged in training, planning, consulting and research activities related to the promotion of rural regional development both in developing countries and in Israel. Over the years the DSC has become a forum for maintaining an ongoing dialogue between practicing professionals, academics and policy-makers both in Israel and abroad.

Since its establishment, the DSC has developed the "Rehovot Approach" to Integrated Rural Development as a suggested solution to eradicate poverty and promote social and economic development in rural areas.

This approach has been translated into a detailed methodology of planning which has already been tested in many developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. In concrete terms, this methodology is based on the region as the basic planning unit, considers simultaneously all economic sectors (agriculture, industry and services) and relates to the various aspects of development (economical, sociological, organizational and physical).

The approach regards planning in terms of a cross-functional process. The regional development plan is actually the point of intersection, at the regional level, of the two planning functions - the vertical and the horizontal. The vertical represents the overall planning from the national or macro-levels, through the regional (district, province) down to the village or grassroots level. The horizontal function covers the whole range of planning activities at the selected regional level in addition to the mentioned economic sectors (agricultural, environmental, etc.)

At the end of the Regional Development planning process, a complete and comprehensive regional plan is formulated and a report is drafted. Specific development projects (in agriculture, industry, infrastructure, education, health, tourism or population participation) are identified and prepared. Each project is economically viable, financially sustainable and generates the most benefit to the regional economy.