Augustin

Augustin is a 46 year-old married man, living with his wife and their five children in the Northern District of Rwanda. They are happy that all of their children are attending school. Augustin and his wife are both farmers. His wife grows a variety of seasonal crops for family consumption and sells the surplus for extra income, while he specialises in banana farming.

Augustin has now been cultivating bananas for over ten years, with support from his wife. After realising the profitability of his banana plantation, Augustin aims to expand his banana farming. Currently, he grows bananas on one hectare of farmland but plans to increase his production and sales. He therefore decided to apply for a loan to purchase an additional hectare of farmland, which will enable him to harvest around eight tonnes of bananas from the new land. This expansion is expected to boost his production and income, allowing him to repay the loan without any issues.

His wife will assist with selling the bananas, while Augustin focuses mainly on farming activities. He currently employs five workers and plans to hire five more to help prepare the new land and plant banana seedlings. The additional income will help cover education costs for their children and other household expenses. Augustin believes that, in the future, his farming activities will more than double in size.