Rwanda, slightly larger than Wales, is often called "The Land of One Thousand Hills" which gives a clue to the difficulties of farming there, with some smallholdings at 55% inclinations to maximise the use of land in a country with one of the highest population densities in all of Africa. Such is the scarcity of arable land that most family farms are around one half hectare in size, too small for full scale commercial production, yet lending themselves to the production of coffee and tea.

Despite this, farming in Rwanda is the backbone of its small economy with about 80% dependent on the land for their living although as farms are split as they are handed down through the generations, farming is becoming increasingly fragmented there. The government has responded by educating farming about best practices, consolidating land so that farmers can synchronise their crop production, sew improved quality seeds and use more fertiliser to maximise crop output from what land is available. These improvements have seen a doubling of bean production and a tripling of maize, wheat and cassava production over the last five years.

Another government lead initiative is the Girinka Program which aims to provide a cow for every poor family in Rwanda, helping to ensure that children suffering from malnutrition at least have access to fresh milk with all of its health benefits. To date around 100,000 cows have been distributed to Rwandan farming families with 350,000 a target figure. This video shows the day in the life of a Rwanda farming family and discusses the many challenges they face to be able to provide for themselves and their children on their small one acre farm, larger than most.