Small livestock, pigs and poultry in particular, are important to smallholder farmers in Rwanda. Pigs and poultry can generate jobs and income and bring protein-rich food to rural and urban families, and small livestock suits small-size farms that dominate Rwanda’s hilly landscapes.

The Government of Rwanda aims to develop the small livestock subsector as reflected in the fourth Strategic Plan for Agriculture Transformation (PSTA 4) and the Livestock Master Plan, launched in 2017. These instruments set out to raise productivity and quality of pig and poultry value chains through genetic improvement, better feed and enhanced animal health services, and other mechanisms. According, small livestock was selected as focus of the TAP-AIS Rwanda project, implemented from October 2019 to June 2023, under the global FAO-led project “Developing capacities in agricultural innovation systems: scaling up the Tropical Agriculture Platform Framework”, funded by the European Union.

In partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI), FAO Rwanda carried out the TAP-AIS project in four main steps:

• An assessment of the agricultural innovation system for the small livestock subsector, using case studies on poultry, pig farming and animal feeds, to analyse the current situation and identify challenges and constraints to innovation.
• Capacity development and coaching to strengthen two national associations working on pig and poultry value chains:  Rwanda Pig Farmers Association (RPFA) and Rwanda Poultry Industry Association (RPIA).
• A policy dialogue process to analyse policy and the enabling environment around pig, poultry and animal feeds value chains, identify problems and recommend policy actions that the Government of Rwanda and other stakeholders should take to strengthen the value chains.
• A final workshop involving the main stakeholders, in March 2023, to jointly reflect on achievements, lessons learned and way forward.

TAP-AIS Rwanda was guided by a Project Advisory Team with participation from the Government (MINAGRI and RAB), research and academia (CGIAR and University of Rwanda), development cooperation organizations (ENABEL and Land’O Lakes Orora Wihaze), the European Union Delegation and independent experts, as well as FAO-Rwanda.

The studies and consultations identified nine priority problems that hinder pig, poultry and animal feed value chains from working effectively and made recommendations for policy actions to boost innovation and value chain development for small livestock. The problem areas that need the attention of Government of Rwanda and other stakeholders are:

• insufficient access to affordable, suitable and nutritious animal feeds;
• low market prices for pig and poultry products;
• cultural perceptions regarding consumption of eggs, chicken and pork;
• financial constraints faced by farmers and feed millers;
• ineffective improvement of animal breeds;
• poor standards for animal sheds at the farm level;
• limited animal health services;
• poor market infrastructure and processing facilities; and 
• limited farmer knowledge and skills for rearing pigs and poultry.

Going forward, RPFA and RPIA, the two national associations strengthened by the project, play a key role in an emerging multistakeholder platform on small livestock in Rwanda. As for the policy environment for small livestock,  the project results are informing the Rwanda’s Livestock Strategy  and the fifth Strategic Plan for Agriculture Transformation 2024 –2029 (PSTA 5), both under preparation by MINAGRI. These capacities and strategies are steps towards improved livelihood among Rwanda’s smallholder farmers.

Four FAO publications by the TAP-AIS Rwanda project are now available on-line, forming a ‘mini-library’ on current status, trends and ways forward of the small livestock subsector in Rwanda:

National agricultural innovation system assessment in Rwanda: the small livestock subsector

The report presents the findings of an assessment of the innovation system of the small livestock subsector in Rwanda. The study was carried out in 2021, centered around three case studies: introduction of the Sasso breed dual-purpose chicken in Rwanda; artificial insemination for improved pig farming; and a study on the animal feeds industry. This work gave the direction to the continued work of the TAP-AIS project in terms of organizational capacity development and a policy dialogue process.

Enhancing the animal feed value chain for pig and poultry production in Rwanda. Policy brief.

Insufficient access to affordable animal feeds of good quality is the most serious constraint to smallholder pig and poultry production in Rwanda. This policy brief presents an analysis of the problems in animal feeds value chain, and provides ten policy recommendations on how the Government of Rwanda and other stakeholders should address these problems.

Small livestock development in Rwanda: enhancing the policy environment for pig and poultry value chains. Policy brief.

This second Policy brief takes stock of the current status of both pig and poultry value chains in Rwanda, identifying problems that limits their efficiency and profit. Limited or poor market infrastructure and processing facilities for animal products, and limited animal health services are such examples.  The analysis of these problems are paired with a set of eleven policy recommendations to address these problems.

Small livestock development in Rwanda: Policy analysis of pig and poultry value chains.

This report presents findings of a 2022 consultancy study of policy and the enabling environment for innovation in the small livestock subsector in Rwanda. It includes an analysis of policies and strategies relevant to small livestock in Rwanda, and results of policy consultations in eight districts of Rwanda, involving 39 key informant interviews and five focus group discussions. A national policy dialogue event in November 2022 in Kigali validated the findings. The report presents and discusses priority problems in the small livestock subsector. A deeper analysis of the animal feeds value chain – the problem of highest priority – is presented. This publication presents policy interventions that the Government of Rwanda and other stakeholders jointly should undertake to address limited access to animal feeds and to facilitate innovation in pig and poultry value chains in the country.