When I first met Christine Nyirahabimana at the recently-concluded agricultural show at Gikondo exhibition ground, she was explaining to showgoers how to handle day-old chicks. The farmer spoke with passion and had all the information on her finger tips.

The ease with which she talked about bird rearing could convince anyone to engage in the trade.

Her audience seemed to be hooked to every word and movement of her hands. Like all the other showgoers, I was spellbound and, so, I decided to find out more about the farmer.

The resident of Kanombe sector, Kicukiro District, has mastered her trade through years of hands-on practice and research.

Starting out

From 30 broilers in 1996, Nyiransabimana is now a big poultry farmer in the district. The model farmer is one of the leaders of the poultry association in the Kicukiro. She says she was inspired by her husband to start the project.

"Though I was always passionate about poultry, I was hesitant to start the project. However, my husband who was working with a feeds factory that also raised chicken encouraged me. With his support, I was able to buy 30 broilers,” she explains.

Nyirahabimana adds that she was staying near the Rubirizi chicken hatchery, which also encouraged her to continue with the project.

"Of the 30 chicks that I ordered, seven died,” she says.

She says that she has been able to work with other farmers to form a group to lobby for them.

"Four years ago, we decided to form an association in order to lobby for the government support,” notes the 43-year-old Nyiransabimana.

She notes that it is easy to handle challenges through an association than individually. She is in charge of financial monitoring in the association

Enterprise mix

Apart from poultry farming, Nyiransabimana grows crops in Rwamagana.

"With mixed farming, a farmer benefits from sales and bird waste that is used as manure for crops to improve production.

"That way, one can be able to improve their living standards, thanks to the steady source of income and food that come with the mixed farming approach,” she says.

Challenges

The biggest challenge we face as poultry farmers is the high cost of chicken feeds, says Nyiransabimana. Currently, a kilo of feeds costs between Rwf320 and Rwf330 or more.

"There is a big mismatch between the price of feeds and the cost of an egg and meat, which are low. If feeds were at about Rwf250, farmers would earn some good profit from their efforts,” the mother of six notes.

She says most of the feeds, like sardines and cotton seed meal, are imported from Uganda and Tanzania, with only maize bran made locally.

"However, when there is shortage of maize, we import maize bran from Kenya,” she says.

Disease outbreaks also pose a huge challenge for farmers. Nyiransabimana urges farmers to be watchful all the time, noting that in case of disease outbreak, the birds can die in huge numbers, affecting production and income.

"The problem is compounded by the fact that we do not have agro-insurance. Without a fall-back position, most farmers give up in case of huge deaths of chicks,” she says.

However, she says Rwanda Agriculture Board (RAB)s vets are always ready to intervene in case of a disease outbreak.

"Even when there is shortage of chicks at the Rubirizi chicken hatchery, RAB allows us to import day-old chickens from Uganda, and Belgium,” Nyiransabimana says.

Market

Nyiransabimana sells most of the birds to local and city supermarkets. A bird that weighs one kilogramme costs Rwf2,000, whereas eggs range from Rwf68-70. each

"We sell most of the birds and eggs to local small supermarkets and restaurants, as well as in neighbourhood market. We also export some of the birds to the Democratic Republic of Congo,” she says.

The birds are sold after making three to four months and weighing about 2kg.

She says though some hotels buy chicken and eggs locally, "most of the times big hotels import chicken meat and eggs”.

"I think they do not believe that local farmers can satisfy their demand. This could change if the poultry farmers association is given more support by the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources. This can help farmers to increase production and be able to sustain the market demand,” she says.

Income in figures

One bird (layer) produces a minimum of 320 eggs per annum. She sells about 30,000 four-month old birds at Rwf2,000 each, raking in about Rwf60 million per year.

When she has off-layers, she sells at least 2,000 for meat annually at Rwf2500 each, bringing in Rwf5 million.

Achievements

With her husband, the veteran farmer has built a modern house and improved her chicken shelter.

The project has enhanced her financial status and is able to pay fees for her children; two in secondary school and one at university.

Nyiransabimana says she used some of the savings to buy a big piece of land in Rwamagana District, where she grows food and cash crops.

She has been recognised for her efforts and has been awarded several ‘certificates of appreciation’ as a female job-creator.

She has equipped over 500 people from various places in the country with modern poultry keeping skills and techniques, according to a register at her farm. "I sometimes visit their homes and help them start the project.

"Many people have been inspired by my testimony...I use any platform, like agricultural shows and farmer gatherings, to teach people about better ways of rearing birds and how poultry farming can improve the income and living standards,” says Nyiransabimana.

Message

Poultry farming requires someone who is passionate about birds as any other project. So, don’t go into chicken rearing just for the money, advises the model farmer.

Nyiransabimana says, in case of disease outbreak that could leave all the birds dead, farmers should persevere, buy new stock and soldier on.

Citing her experience, she says she at one time lost 1,200 chicks, but picked up the pieces and reorganised the project, which largely contributed to her success today.

"Poultry is an important source of income and can help end economic woes of farmers. I encourage Rwandans to invest in farming, especially poultry,” she says. She adds that one is also able to generate manure for their crops to boost production.

She says the start-up does not require big investment, noting that anyone with some little finances, and passion can start a poultry farming project.

"It is not necessarily about big investment...just start with whatever resources you have and increase capital gradually,” says Nyiransabimana.

Tips

Nyiransabimana says she plans all her expenditure, noting that this helps her to save and reinvest some of the money, as well as pay fees for her children and the family’s health insurance.

"My philosophy is ‘always have good action plans and endeavour to achieve them’. This way, I avoid spending the money on unplanned activities,” she says.

The farmer adds that she also saves some of the money with a local co-operative and bank.

What others say about her

Jean bosco Mirambi, neighbour

There is a lot I can talk about Nyiransabimana; she has played a big role in helping many of us improve our livelihoods, especially by training us about poultry farming. She also helps people acquire chicks to start poultry farming.

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Josiane Uwamariya, farmer and neighbour

Nyiransabimana is an asset to our village and the whole district generally. She has managed to improve her family’s welfare through poultry farming. She is free with everyone and I have learnt a lot of things from her.

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Abdul Nshimyumuremyi, a farmer

Nyiransabimana paid my school fees from primary because I was orphaned at a young age. I learnt poultry farming from her, and I am planning to start my own project next year.

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Egidia Mukankusi, farmer and neighbour

Nyiransabimana is hard working and has contributed a lot to our community.

She has helped educate many orphans, and she always advises and guides us on a number of issues. She is also courageous and passionate.

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