Assessment of Participatory rural appraisal in Sustaining Livelihood in Rural Community. Case Study of Mbazi Sector (2011-2018)

Abstract

The Government of Rwanda respects citizen participation and considered as rights and duty of citizens, and it is something recognized in the Rwandan constitution as amended in 2015 in its articles specifies that ―all citizens have the right to participate in the governance of the country, whether directly or through representatives, in accordance with the law. All citizens have a right to equal access to public service in accordance their competence and abilities‖. The Government has put in place various channels to assure Participatory Planning and Implementation process. Different researches and surveys of this field wrote about levels and awareness of Citizens‘ Participation. This is about the assessment of Participatory Rural Appraisal in sustaining rural livelihood, which is basically the core focus of this study. To achieve that purpose, three research questions were preferred; one, is there any contribution of PRA in sustaining rural livelihood in rural community of Mbazi Sector? Second, what are the indicators shows that Participatory Rural Appraisal improves and sustains rural livelihood of residents of Mbazi Sector? Third, what are the factors that hinder the effectiveness of Participatory Rural Appraisal in sustaining rural livelihood?Data used included both primary data and secondary data, such as books, reports, journals, articles and other relevant documents. The researcher have sampled respondents randomly and purposive, the total sample size of this study is 60 respondents; purposively Forty eight (48) famers were interviewed in Focus Group Discussion, eight (8) were randomly interviewed, and finally four (4) local leaders of Mbazi sector interviewed. Data were analyzed and interpreted in relation to the objectives of the research after the analysis and interpretation; all objectives were realized through respondent‘s opinions, observation and documentation. Therefore, basing on the outcomes of this study, the research reveals that there is significance part of PRA in rural sustainable livelihoods in Mbazi but not at the extent it was expected. It was clearly indicated that participatory rural appraisal framework should improve in the district, as well as in the country as so many respondents proposed, in order to increase its efficiency to better livelihood. Means, though there is a level of attainment, but there is a long way to attain the needed and fully level of participatory rural appraisal for the enhancement and sustain rural community livelihood.