[01] Gustave Nzungize, Faculty of Environmental Studies, University of Lay Adventists of Kigali (UNILAK), Kigali, Rwanda. [02] Hakizimana Narcisse, Faculty of Environmental Studies, University of Lay Adventists of Kigali (UNILAK), Kigali, Rwanda. [03] Muvunyi Jean Damascene, Faculty of Environmental Studies, University of Lay Adventists of Kigali (UNILAK), Kigali, Rwanda. [04] Lamek Nahayo, Faculty of Environmental Studies, University of Lay Adventists of Kigali (UNILAK), Kigali, Rwanda.

Climate change, one of the challenges facing the world today, is increasingly affecting people’s livelihood in Rwanda like other developing countries. This study aimed to assess the impact of climate change on rice production in Nyanza district, Southern Rwanda. The climate data mainly rainfall and temperature were obtained from Rwanda Meteorological Agency (RMA). The data on rice production were collected from the rice production cooperative in Nyanza district. The employed seven-year (2010-2017) datasets were analyzed by using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), Microsoft excel and Stata. The results indicated that the highest quantity of rice was produced in 2016 (6,254 tons) and 2017 was the year with the lowest rice production (2,809 tons). Regarding rainfall, the highest average was recorded in 2013 and 2016 (126.59-142.56 mm), and these years recorded rice productions of 5,350-6,254 tons, respectively. The temperature manifested a slight change with nearly 2°C between the lowest 20.5°C and the highest 22.44°C. The results indicated that change on average annual rainfall and temperature lead to 64.5% and 4.9% variations on annual rice production, respectively. Thus, rainfall significantly impacts on rice production in Nyanza District. Therefore, rice varieties resisting to climate change, mainly rainfall variability would be productive in this area.

Climate Change, Rice Production, Nyanza District, Rwanda

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