The government will also look to the poultry subsector to fight malnutrition in Rwandan households through increased consumption of eggs. ©FAO/Teopista Mutesi

Rwanda’s agriculture contributes about 31 percent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (NISR, 2017), 10 percent of which comes from the livestock subsector.

The subsector presents investment opportunities going by the new and first ever livestock master plan which will run from 2017–2022.

Developed with financial support from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the road map highlights investment and production in the four value chains, namely; Poultry, Pork, Dairy and red meat.

The subsector will target to attract investments from the private sector which will total to 53 percent (RWF 125 388 billion) while about 47 percent (RWF 112 580 billion) is expected to come from the public sector interventions. Successful implementation of the strategy would contribute to food and nutrition security at household and increasing the incomes for the Rwandan population whose 60 percent is employed in agriculture (NISR, 2016).

The five year strategy will require a budget of RWF 238 billion (USD 287 million) to boost livestock production.

With recommended level of investment, milk production will increase to 2.2 billion liters of milk from 747 million liters of milk produced in 2016/17 representing an 18.2 percent increase during the implementation period.

Solange Uwituze, Deputy Director General for Animal Research and technological transfer at Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB) cited low consumption of animal source foods among Rwandans.

“Rwanda is the least consumer of meat in East Africa and below FAO recommendation of 50 kg of meat per person per annum. Consumption of eggs and milk is still low also compared to the country’s target. An average Rwandan consumes 68 liters of milk per annum. The master plan will contribute to reducing malnutrition and improving farmers’ incomes,” Solange said.

Projected investment interventions will entail access to better genetics, feed and health services, and skills development, which could help meet the national development plan targets of improving productivity and total production.

The FAO Representative in Rwanda, Gualbert Gbehounou, said: “Developing a comprehensive livestock master plan that pulls together all of the existing and guiding policy documents within the sector into one focused plan, helps to establish a competitive and more efficient livestock industry that will significantly contribute to food security and nutrition as well as improve the well-being of people.”

Operationalizing the strategy

Carine Nyilimana, a livestock specialist at the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources said the strategy is being utilized by the government and partners as well as farmers to improve the quality of the livestock related products. 

Solange Uwituze urged districts to use the livestock master plan during the formulation and implementation of their performance contracts locally known as Imihigo.

Birasa Nyamulinda, an agriculture investment advisor at Rwanda Development Board (RDB) explained that the master plan will guide the focus on areas of investment and will be helpful in searching for foreign and local investors into the subsector.

Some of the challenges identified in the master plan to the four value chains include, low feed availability and quality, low genetic potential of indigenous animals, animal health services, marketing and processing, as well as the government policies that don’t offer incentives to involve in the subsector.

The four value chains in figures

Diary value chain

Currently, there are about 799 000 crossbreed dairy cattle in Rwanda and it is projected that the number will increase to 1.17 million by 2022 representing an increase of 46 percent, while milk production will grow from 747 million liters of milk produced in 2017 to 2.2 billion liters by 2022, an 18.2 percent boost. The rise in both the number of dairy cattle and milk production will increase the contribution of the dairy value chain to the national gross product to 53 percent.

Red meat development

Under the recommended level investment, the increases in red meat production from cattle, sheep and goats from 2017 to 2022 is 32 percent, 33 percent, and 50 percent, respectively. Cattle and goats are the primary sources of red meat in 2022. Total red meat grows from 58 579 tons in 2017 to 79 586 tons in 2022, an increase of 36 percent. The GDP contribution of red meat coming from cattle from all Rwanda’s production zones and systems is expected to have an overall increase of 19 percent.

Eggs consumption and production

The chicken meat and egg production expected to experience substantial increments of 124 percent and 110 percent, would contribute significantly to fulfilling the national meat requirement and would increase per capita egg consumption.

Although the per capita egg consumption increases, a significant shortage continues to exist to meeting the FAO recommended requirement, which is 4.5 kg per person. According to the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR), on average, a Rwandan ate about 13 eggs in 2016.

Pork productivity

Increasing pig productivity and meat production will help close the projected all-meat consumption gap projected in 15 years. Industrializing pork production (in large commercial scale operations and processing for product transformation) will lower domestic meat prices, while enabling an increase in exports and foreign exchange earnings.

Red meat development

Rwanda produced about 58 580 metric tons of red meat in 2016/2017, wherein 74 percent is beef and the remaining 26 percent comes from sheep and goats. The red meat produced is predominately for domestic consumption, with little exports. Boosting production and closing the domestic production-consumption gap will pave the way for exporting.

Chicken meat

The total chicken meat and egg production from the family and commercial specialized systems is expected to increase from 15 715 tons in 2016/17 to 35 170 tons in 2021/22 for meat which constitutes a 124 percent increase over 5 years.

The overall target is to raise pig meat production from the current 19 945 tons in 2016/17 to 67 076 tons by 2022, an increase of 239 percent to be achieved through improving the family mixed pig system and expanded commercial specialized piglet fattening.

FAO consumption recommandations vis-à-vis available animal source foods in Rwanda

* 50 kg of meat per person per annum while the meat availability is of 8kg/person/year

* 220 liters of milk per person per annum while milk availability is of 63 /person/year

* 90 kg of eggs per person per annum while eggs availability is of 1kg/person/year

Contact:

Teopista Mutesi | Communications Specialist | FAO-Rwanda | Email: [email protected]