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Abstract
Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) faces the challenge of low food production
and high incidences of poverty. Several programs initiated in the region to improve food security
and market access have had limited success. Many households mainly grow bananas and legumes
as staple crops. Using propensity score matching, this paper evaluates the impact of bananas and
legumes commercialization on household food security. Commercial oriented farmers have more
diverse diets than non-commercial oriented ones because they can easily purchase other foods to
supplement own production. Commercialization has a robust and positive effect on household food
security. It significantly increases household dietary diversity and reduces the number of coping
strategies adopted during food shortage. Programs that promote commercialization of smallholder
agriculture coupled with improved infrastructure in terms of roads and market information systems
are continuously needed to facilitate commercialization of farm produce.