............Agriculture brings hope to Rwandans   By George Kalisa AS Rwandans and lovers of democracy across the world today mark the sixth anniversary of President Paul Kagame since he was elected in the first ever democratic general election in the country, it is imperative to note that improving the welfare of the people in an agriculture-based society like Rwanda would remain a myth without having the problems in the sector addressed.   The pre-and-colonial regimes confined the Rwandese to biting poverty by ignoring all the productive enterprises, agriculture inclusive, President Kagame noted during the 15th liberation cerebrations at Amahoro National Stadium in Remera, Kigali.   Prime minister, Bernard Makuza tours agricultural projects started after the launch of agricultural revolution by President Paul Kagame six years ago   About 80% of Rwandans directly depend on agriculture for a livelihood. For decades, agriculture was purely subsistence and productivity of arable land was significantly low as the previous governments did virtually nothing to help their people shift from traditional practices to modern ones.   Having a mountainous topography subjects the rural farmers to the problems of soil erosion. In Rwanda, cultivation is done on the slopes and in the valleys.   Erosion, before the agricultural revolution kicked off, six years ago, had left most parts of the country barren and a significant portion of the rural population without food let alone incomes to meet the day-to-day needs. The perpetual situation was aggravated by traditional farming practices and lack of planning.   In the late 1990s and early 2000s, rural Rwanda practiced overgrazing and overstocking of animals and monoculture. It was such practices that accelerated soil erosion, especially in what is now known as the Eastern Province while in the mountainous parts of the northern, western and southern Rwanda, contour cultivation and application of terraces was unheard of.   Thus, keeping the agricultural yields so low that rural farmers always succumbed to famine and biting poverty. This coupled with land fragmentation and mono-culture had left Rwandese uncertain of the future.