Gatsibo is a district (''akarere'') in Eastern Province, Rwanda. Its capital is Kabarore. It lies in the sectors of Gatsibo and Kageyo. It’s at about 1 hour and 50 minutes drive from Kigali city.

Geography

The district comprises areas in the north-east of Rwanda, between

Kayonza Kayonza is a small town in Kayonza district, Eastern Province, Rwanda. The town is centred on a roundabout, where the road east from Kigali splits into the road running north to the Ugandan border, and the road south to Tanzania. It is a major ...

and

Nyagatare Nyagatare is a town in the North East of Rwanda. With a population of more than 100,000, it is one of the most populous settlements in the Eastern Province along with Rwamagana and Kibungo. Location Nyagatare is located in Nyagatare District, ...

. The German post of Gatsibo was located here, as is the present-day Gabiro military camp. The eastern part of the district is in

Akagera National Park Akagera National Park is a protected area in eastern Rwanda covering along the international border with Tanzania. It was founded in 1934 and includes savannah, montane and swamp habitats. The park is named for the Kagera River which flows alo ...

, with the

Kagera River The Kagera River, also known as Akagera River, or Alexandra Nile, is an East African river, forming part of the upper headwaters of the Nile and carrying water from its most distant source.Stanley, H.M., 1899, Through the Dark Continent, London: G ...

forming the border with

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

Location of Gatsibo District

This District is one of the seven Districts making the Eastern Province. It is divided into 14 Sectors which are; Gasange, Gatsibo, Gitoki, Kabarore, Kageyo, Kiramuruzi, Kiziguro, Muhura, Murambi, Ngarama, Nyagihanga, Remera, Rugarama and Rwimbogo. It is also divided into 69 cells and 603 villages “Imidugudu”. Spreading an area of 1,582.32 km2. The District borders with the Akagera National Park in East, to the North by Nyagatare District; to the West by Gicumbi District, to the South by Rwamagana and Kayonza Districts.

Population

In 2012 National Census provisional results, the total

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

increased from 283,456 in 2002 to 433,997. Gatsibo District has population density of 270 persons per

square In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90- degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length a ...

kilometer. The increase in the

represents a growth rate of 53.1% between 2002 and 2012. Males represent 48% of the population whereas females represent 52% of the population.

Agriculture

Gatsibo site is one of the Sustainable

Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

Intensification and Food security Project (SAIP) intervention sites across Rwanda. SAIP’s main development objective is to increase agricultural productivity,

market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography *Märket, an ...

access, and food security of the targeted beneficiaries in the project intervention areas across the

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

. Out of the total area treated with comprehensive land

husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. Husbandry has a long history, startin ...

technologies, 405.90Ha are subjected to rain fed agriculture, 45Ha gross area in the command area was developed for hillside irrigation. Agriculture production and

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animal ...

is the principal economic activity in Gatsibo

District A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

. According to EICV5, 16.8% is Percentage of land under consolidation compared to 15.9% at Seven District Development Programme implementation report(2013-2018) 20 national level, 72.7% is Percentage of land protected against soil erosion compared to 68.5% at national level, 3.7% is Percentage of land under

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...

compared to 6%% at national level. According to EICV4, 77.3% are employed by agriculture sector including the wage farm (13.6%) and independent farmers (63.7%). The rest are either in the service or

informal sectors An informal economy (informal sector or grey economy) is the part of any economy that is neither taxed nor monitored by any form of government. Although the informal sector makes up a significant portion of the economies in developing countrie ...

Crop production Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...

According to Seasonal Agricultural Survey - 2017 Season A, agricultural physical land represent % of the district’s land, including cultivated land (75.2%), fallow (4.7%) and pasture and non-agricultural land represent only 20.1%. The same

survey Survey may refer to: Statistics and human research * Statistical survey, a method for collecting quantitative information about items in a population * Survey (human research), including opinion polls Spatial measurement * Surveying, the techniq ...

showed that the main crop produced are cereals (maize and Rice) representing 29.5% of

cultivated land Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

, followed by legumes and pulse with 28.5% and banana on 23.14%

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

data8 (NISR, 2017 Seasonal Agricultural.

Livestock

In this,

is another important source of income and food for agricultural households. In Gatsibo District, 69.7% of HHs own any

mainly cows including 73.3% in HHs headed by

male Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization. A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to ...

and 58.1% in HHs headed by

female Female ( symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females ...

. The

milk production A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...

is increasing over year following the introduction of exotic breeding being replacing local breeding. Today Gatsibo District counts 63,848 local

cows Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

while Jersey and Friesian are 1,427 and 3,102 respectively, whereas cross

Cows Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

estimated at 14,406 Cows. However, Gatsibo has five milk collections centre located in Rwimbogo, Kabarore, Ngarama, Kiziguro and Kiramuruzi Sector with a collection capacity of 2,000 liters (MINAGRI Record 2013).

References

External links

*
Gatsibo government website
{{coord, 1, 36, S, 30, 27, E, display=title, region:RW_type:adm2nd_source:GNS-enwiki Eastern Province, Rwanda Districts of Rwanda