The agriculture sector in Rwanda plays a crucial role in the country’s economy, contributing over 31% to the national GDP and employing more than 70% of the workforce. However, challenges such as a rural-based economy and a 2.3% population growth rate put pressure on agricultural sustainability. The National Agricultural Policy (2018) aims to modernize the sector, shifting from subsistence farming to a knowledge-driven approach. The dairy industry, vital for food security, is a key focus of government investment, with targets to increase milk production and contribute 173 billion RWF to the GDP by 2022. Despite its current contribution of 10.5% to agricultural GDP (117 billion RWF annually), production faces hurdles like poor infrastructure and inconsistent supply chains.
To boost dairy production and reduce poverty, the Government of Rwanda has introduced targeted programs such as ‘One Cow per Poor Household’ (Girinka), alongside support from NGOs that strengthen Milk Collection Centres (MCCs). The ‘Practical Guide for Proper Milk Cooling and Storage – Rwanda’ provides MCC operators with strategies to maintain milk quality, offering guidance on cooling technologies, temperature control, storage design, energy efficiency, and quality monitoring. These interventions aim to enhance dairy sector efficiency, improve livelihoods, and ensure sustainable food production in Rwanda.
Tag: dairy farming
Identifying appropriate farmer engagement approaches to raise interest of dairy farmers to take up improved feed and feeding practices for increased milk production
Aside from its critical nutrition benefits, smallholder milk production has high income generation potential in Uganda’s Eastern Region. However, both its productivity and quality remains low. A key underlying cause is inadequate feeding practices, with poor use of and access to quality feed being a key contributing factor.
Institutionalization of the Volunteer Farmer Trainer Approach in Dairy Producer Organizations in Kenya
Agricultural extension is important in disseminating information, reducing poverty and promoting agricultural development in most developing countries. In the past, topdown public sector-driven model of extension was commonly used for information dissemination. The model, however, was ineffective because of various reasons such as limited resources (few staff and shortage of funds) hence its inability to reach a substantial number of farmers, especially the poor smallholder farmers living in remote and mountainous regions.
The Volunteer Farmer Trainer Approach Three Years after the Exit of the East Africa Dairy Development Project: A Case Study of Four Dairy Producer Organizations in Kenya
This study has shown that VFTs are still training other farmers in Central and Rift Valley three years after the exit of EADD project. A majority of the farmers have received training on fodder/pasture establishment and fodder conservation technologies. Furthermore, VFTs have demonstration plots which they use for training. This study has also shown that the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (MALF) extension officers continue to partner with VFTs when training farmers. This is commendable since it provides an opportunity for VFTs to improve their knowledge and skills.
Proceedings of the Workshops on Institutionalization of the Volunteer Farmer Trainer Approach in Producer organizations in Kenya: A case study of Kabiyet, Lelchego and Sot Dairies
The project has been using a farmer-tofarmer extension model known as the volunteer farmer-trainer (VFT) approach to help improve the knowledge and skills of dairy farmers. In the VFT approach, farmer trainers train farmers and share information and experience, but are not paid for their services. The approach has proved effective in promoting the uptake of new practices.
Does dairy intensification threaten livelihood diversity in East Africa?
Intensifying smallholder dairy farming can reduce global greenhouse gas emissions and increase food production on existing croplands. Much public policy therefore assumes that dairy intensification reduces emissions per unit of production, while simultaneously improving both rural incomes and food security. Whether the hypothesized social co-benefits of intensification manifest in practice has not however been fully empirically validated. Because intensification is labor and capital intensive, resource diversions may occur that could make rural livelihoods more specialized. This in turn could threaten dietary diversity and smallholder resilience to shocks. In this article, we accordingly examine the relationship between dairy intensification, livelihood diversity, nutrition diversity, and wellbeing, drawing on primary research conducted in two developing countries, Kenya and Tanzania, with vibrant smallholder dairy sectors. We find that dairy intensification by and large enhances livelihood diversity, nutritional diversity, and wealth. These findings suggest that for dairy, intensification and diversification may be complementary livelihood strategies.
Optimizing amla (Phyllanthus emblica) fruit powder supplementation in liquid feed fed to Holstein dairy calves: Insights from growth performance and health events
Despite efforts at improvement, calf diarrhea remains one of the main problems in calf rearing. Amla (Phyllanthus emblica) fruit could be a good candidate to improve gut health due to its antimicrobial, gastro-protective, and immunomodulatory effects. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of amla fruit powder supplementation on frequency of diarrhea and growth performance of dairy calves. One hundred male Holstein calves [2-days (d)-old; 42.6 ± 1.7 kg body weight (BW)] were randomly assigned into five treatments, CON, PEF5, PEF10, PEF20, and PEF40, with 0, 5, 10, 20, and 40 g/d amla fruit powder (PEF) supplementation, respectively, and housed in individual hutches (n = 20 calves per treatment). The experiment lasted from 2 to 75 d of age (weaning) and calves were fed milk (2–7 d), milk replacer (8–75 d), and calf starter (2–75 d). The PEF supplementations were fed in two meals a day, equal amount each time, by mixing into milk or milk replacer. Feed intake and fecal score data were collected daily; BW and body frame measurements at 2, 14, 28, 42, and 75 d; and rumen fluid samples at 14, 28, 42, and 75 d. Starter and total dry matter intakes (DMI) differed among treatments during 22–75 with the highest in CON and linearly decreased with increasing PEF doses. Liquid feed DMI tended to decrease with increasing PEF doses. PEF supplementation had quadratic effect on body weight (BW), average daily gain (ADG), feed efficiency, body length, heart girth, and withers height. The BW and ADG differed among treatments during 29–75 and 15–75 d, respectively, with the highest in PEF5 followed by CON and lowest in PEF40. However, PEF did not improve BW and ADG compared to the CON. The overall feed efficiency in PEF5 was higher than in PEF20 and PEF40. PEF5 decreased the frequency of fecal score “3” (P = 0.02) while PEF5 (P < 0.01) and PEF10 (P = 0.03) increased the frequency of fecal score “1”, compared to the CON. Frequency of diarrhea in the PEF5 group (7.9%) was lower (P < 0.05) than all groups (11.1%, 14.3%, 22.6%, and 24.2% for PEF10, PEF20, and PEF40, respectively). Rumen fermentation (pH, ammonia-N, and volatile fatty acids) was not affected by PEF supplementation. However, ammonia-N showed a decreasing trend with increasing PEF levels. The results suggested that PEF could be fed at 5 g/d to reduce diarrhea in preweaning dairy calves.