The livelihoods of the country’s dairy farmers is at risk as milk production drops due to the current adverse weather conditions characterised by a dry spell.

The situation has been worsened by the recent outbreak of Rift Valley Fever in three districts of East Province: Ngoma, Kirehe, and Kayonza, which is leading to the loss of livestock. Rift Valley Fever is mosquito-borne virus that primarily infects animals like sheep, cattle and goats.

According to the farmers, it is now difficult to access animal feeds as the grass is drying up leading to insufficient feed for their livestock.

“Last month, we were supplying over 63,000 litre of milk on daily basis, but the dry period has seen our supply reduce to only 47,000 litres of milk,” Titus Mugisha, the farmers representative in Nyagatare zone told Rwanda Today, adding that milk production will dramatically drop in the coming days unless the situation changes.

But, the recent outbreak of the Rift Valley Fever is threatening their source of livelihood as they have lost livestock.

According to official figures, in both May and June, more than 628 cows died across the country from Rift Valley Fever and other diseases transmitted by ticks mainly in the eastern parts of the country.

Mr Mugisha voiced concern that the situation will worsen in the coming months as majority of the small-scale farmers seek to sell off stock to avoid the high cost of buying fodder for their stock.

For instance, in Nyagatare district, the farmers are getting a 20kg fodder block for around Rwf1,000, which is not only costly but supply is low.

According to farmers in Nyagatare zone, the dairy farmers are now banking on available feeds for their livestock from zones in Gabiro military training centre, which is among the few remaining sources of fodder in the area.

However, the Ministry of Agriculture said the dry season would not affect the farming sector much, as the farmers are prepared.

“The government has tried as much as possible to get water into the dairy farms,” said Geraldine Mukeshimana, the Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources.

The ministry has pledged to deploy three fodder-compress baler machines that the farmers will be paying Rwf30,000 per day to hire, over an additional cost for fuel.

In addition, in various areas where farms are running out of water, the district has availed a 12,000-litre truck to fetch water for livestock farmers who hire it at Rwf10,000 plus its fuel for one lap.

“We have been working with stockholders in the milk industry to set up several precautions such as preserving fodder and using alternative oil seed-based meals,” said Justin Zilinda, the Rwanda Agriculture Board representative in the Eastern province.

“There is a slight reduction in milk production based on our normal production proportion, but we are anticipating a slight production drop in coming days,” said Gad Tegeri Gahaya, who heads dairy farmers in the Nyabihu zone.

According to Mr Gahaya, the milk production loss in Nyabihu zone ranges between five to 10 per cent out of over 100,000 litres a day produced in the region.

He added that the lack of storage facilities is contributing to a drop in production, with supplies failing to reach the market.

Farmers in far-flung areas of Rubavu, Ngororero and Rutsiro are forced to transport milk and it’s by products over long distances to reach the market for better prices.

Milk smuggling

A section of stakeholders in the dairy sector said that vendors have adversely affected supplies to the main milk processors by offering better prices to farmers.

Due to these better prices that informal markets in regional and neighbouring countries are offering for milk, the appetite of milk vending is increasing. As a result, they export milk produced locally to neighbouring countries to get better gate prices.

In particular, this is happening within regions bordering Uganda such as Matimba, Rwempasha and Musheri sectors from Nyagatare district.

“The sharp reduction in milk has also been escalated by the high prices for milk being offered in neighbouring Uganda, where the farmers are now getting better prices for their produce,” said Mr Mugisha.

According to a source, a farmer who crosses over to Uganda with 20 litres of milk is paid Rwf6,000, with a litre being sold at Rwf300.

The country’s regulations for the milk sector offer farmers Rwf200 per litre at the milk collection centres.

While the prices of milk are regulated under the stakeholders federation, the government has banned exportation of raw milk.

However, as neighbouring country’s prices are determined by supply and demand, when the supply is low during the dry period the market offers higher prices.