Pastoralists in arid parts of the country are facing limited water and animal feed supply as the dry season sets in.

As a result, milk production has diminished by half, while the livestock farmers are scrambling and competing for the limited feed and access to the water for their stocks.

Most of the cattle herders rely on the water dam to stock water and the hand pumping to sustain supply of water.

“Water is a perennial challenge for the cattle herders on top of limited feeds because, for instance, my farm is 700 meters away from Umuvumba river, which is considered better off compared with other farmers, but due to the limited resources I have to take them to the river rather than getting the water to the farm,” Elissa Mugiraneza, a cattle herder from Tabagwe sector in Nyagatare district told Rwanda Today.

According to the farmers, feeding animals on the remains of crops are less productive on milk compared with animal feeds.

While Nyagarate district produces over 100, 000 litres of milk every day in the rainy season, the production has dropped to 44, 000 litres in the past three consecutive seasons.

With the animal feeds remaining scarce, thousands of cattle are impounded on average every year and auctioned while intruding into the military zone of Gabiro military commanding area as their last resort.

“Some farmers have started storing the animal feeds as the feeds are progressively becoming more widely cultivated.

However, it remains in the minimal supply.” It couldn’t be the case, because the farmers take their cows in the military zones to feed there while they are aware of the consequences but they risk them.

Auctioning the cattle would not be the solution rather than working with the farmers to address the challenge,” Mr Mugiraneza added.

The government and private sector are in the process of establishing the powder milk factory in the region, however, the farmers indicate that without addressing the on-ground challenges the factory is likely to only get the milk production during the rain period.

The Rwf20.5 billion ($20.8 million) worth factory powder milk plant is set to transform the country’s dairy sector.

The proposed plant will have the capacity to process 500,000 litres of milk a day, according to information from Crystal Ventures Ltd (CVL), the parent company of Inyange Industries Ltd.