Dairy Farmers have resorted to peddling their produce on streets after Milk Collection Centres were unable to live to their promises.

According to the farmers, the services offered by the collection centres are no longer desirable. The complaints range from delays in payments or some have gone as far as completely shutting down.

Pascal Munyandamutsa, a dairy farmer in Ntarabana Sector, Rulindo District said, for months now, he moves around his area looking for buyers after being let down by the Collection Centre.

"We were told to sell milk to the collection centre, but for months, it has not been operational. I have no other choice but to sell the milk to neighbours or those who have canteens in our area,” he noted.

For Jean Claude Munyarubuga, a farmer in Nyankenke Sector, Gicumbi District, it is the payment terms of the collection centres that is frustrating, yet there are other buyers who offer cash on delivery.

"Collection Centres want to take our milk and pay later whereas we need the money for our daily needs. I can’t afford to wait for a week to get paid when someone with a canteen or any other person pays me in cash. If they want us to give them our milk, they should pay in cash”, he told The New Times on Tuesday.

However, in an interview with a Manager of a Collection Centre, the issue is not about payment but poor quality milk.

Alphonse Ngendo, the Manager of Rugobagoba Milk Collection Centre in Kamonyi District, said farmers who sell their milk to ‘unauthorised’ buyers are those who fear that their milk will be rejected due poor quality and hygiene.

"We test the quality of milk we receive. When we find that it is not up to standards, it is rejected. As a consequence, the farmer decides to sell it to retailers who sell untested milk to consumers,” Ngendo told The New Times, adding that the issue needs to be resolved urgently for the safety of consumers.

Pierre Sekaneza, the manager of Kinigi Milk Collection Centre, told The New Times that the some of the centres offered poor service to farmers due to operational challenges, including poor management skills.

"Some Centres fail to pay farmers on time or even spend days without taking the milk. When the milk spends over three days in coolers it gets spoilt which causes losses. The Centres eventually fail to pay farmers who then look for alternative markets,” he pointed out.

Dr Geraldine Mukeshimana, the Minister for Agriculture and Animal Resources, acknowledged the issue and explained to The New Times what the challenges faced by collection centres are.

"Challenges are three; among them poor management within cooperatives that manage them, lack of electricity access or single phase electricity, which leads many to remain non-operational while others have logistic issues,” Mukeshimana said.

The Minister, however, she said they are closely following up on the issue, looking at each Collection centre and its unique challenges.

"For those with electricity issues, we concluded a deal with the Ministry of Infrastructure to feed them with tri-phase lines. The ministry will work hard to connect those with no access to electricity as the use of diesel generators presented many challenges,” Minister Mukeshimana told The New Times.

Mukeshimana added that a Ministerial Order was in the offing to give guidelines on who is authorised to buy and sell milk - a move expected to block farmers from peddling their milk.

"The Ministerial Order will determine who is authorised to buy milk and necessary requirements. Any deal outside its provisions shall be regarded as unauthorised,” Mukeshimana said, adding that a grace period of one year will be given to Collection Centres with logistic challenges to fix them.

According to EICV4 (Integrated Household Living Condition Survey), milk production increased from 372,619 tonnes in 2010 to 706,030 tonnes in 2015, an increase of 89 per cent.

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