Rwanda to increase milk production

Rwanda has announced plans to increase country’s milk production to meet market. Solange Uwituze, the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB) Director General revealed the report.

Uwituze noted that as of 2021/22, Rwanda was producing 932, 951 tonnes of milk per year. With a goal to increase the production by 34%, part of the move to meet the target involves completion of a milk powder plant that is under construction in Nyagatare District.

Strategies

The plant which is being set up by Inyange Industries, targeted to will have an annual capacity to produce 14,000 tonnes or 14 million kilogrammes of milk powder and 5,460 tonnes of fat.

Other moves to be implemented include; forage cultivation and training of dairy farmers on appropriate technologies for forage preservation, support to dairy farmers especially those in areas mostly affected by the drought like in Eastern Province to access water harvesting and preservation equipment through a subsidised scheme. The interventions also include the maintenance of feeder roads in Gishwati milk sheds to enhance the collection and distribution of milk.

“The Nyagatare powder milk factory will require a relatively high quantity of raw milk, which is approximately 500,000 litres a day. It is primarily meant to get sourced from Nyagatare and nearby milk sheds like Gicumbi but mobilisation is done all over the country to increase milk production to be able to satisfy both the milk powder plant and the existing milk market,” said Solange Uwituze.