The Gikongoro Agricultural Development Project (GADP) was implemented in Gikongoro in
1990 and terminated in 2001. It covered 83,508 ha with 250,000 habitants and had a target group
of 42,000 farm families, with an estimated total budget of U$ 31.2 million. Its objectives focused
on land development, increase of farm crops, environmental conservation and protection, stores
and roads construction and bank loans for small farmers. Its expected impacts included the
increase of incomes, enhancement of nutritional status and the resolution of the employment
problem. The project was closed without achieving these goals. On the basis of this situation, the
following research questions were raised:
• How and to what degree did inadequate processes of management and evaluation
contribute to the GADP failure?
• How and to what degree did external environmental events prevent the GADP from
achieving its objectives?
• How was the participatory development approach used by the GADP in the process of
learning?
• What were the main causes that led the GADP to fail?
• What could be done and what lessons could be drawn from this experience for the
benefit of ongoing and future projects operating in Rwanda?
The answer to these questions required a review of literature regarding project management and
evaluation principles and organizational environment. The methods used for data collection
included documentation, systems thinking, observation and interviews. Thematic analysis and
systems thinking were used for data analysis. The findings located the reasons for GADP failure
in different problem areas. The civil war of October 1990 and the genocide of April 1994, and
frequent droughts, swept away the GADP resources. The GADP failed to identify the real needs
of the beneficiaries (farmers), coordinate its stakeholders’ activities, and cooperate and
communicate adequately with them. This resulted in delays and budget overruns. The failure to
bring together management and evaluation caused the project to be ineffective and inefficient in
its management of resources. The GADP closed having made no significant positive impacts on
the farmers, especially women. To prevent future potential failures, it is recommended to
introduce systems thinking in Rwandan higher education programs and to develop strong
partnerships between public and private role players. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2011.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ukzn/oai:http://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za:10413/6797 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Musekura, Celestin. |
| Contributors | Taylor, Rob., Pillay, Kriben. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en_ZA |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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