Rwanda Agriculture and Animals Resources Board (RAB) has warned against poor milking hygiene in Gishwati cattle farms in Western Province as bovine mastitis, a condition that affect cows’ mammary glands, has been reported, leading to poor quality and reduced yield of milk.

The development comes after Mukamira Dairy, a Nyabihu-based factory that collects milk from the Gishwati farms, received contaminated milk, which affected its production.

"Mastitis has become a chronic disease in Gishwati,” said David Bucakara, General Manager of Mukamira Dairy, adding that contaminated milk is rejected leading to losses incurred by farmers.

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Speaking to The New Times, Dr Fabrice Ndayisenga, Head of Department-Animal Resources research and Technology Transfer at RAB, said that bovine mastitis is mainly caused by poor hygiene during milking, cautioning farmers against using unclean methods.

"It is caused by uncleanness during milking the cows. We have observed that cattle owners do not monitor the milking process in their farms,” he noted.

Bovine mastitis is the inflammation of the mammary gland and udder tissue, and is a major endemic disease of dairy cattle.

It usually occurs as an immune response to bacterial invasion of the teat canal by a variety of bacterial sources and can also occur as a result of chemical, mechanical, or thermal injury to the cow’s udder, according to vets.

The disease can be treated by using antibiotics.

According to RAB, Gishwati cattle farms produce about 30,000 liters during Summer and 60,000 liters daily during rainy seasons.

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Reports say potential contamination of milk begins from the moment the animal is milked, with unclean udder, skin, milking equipment, handling, and storage.

Ndayisenga said that bovine mastitis has affected at least 30 per cent of dairy cows in Gishwati farms, which are located in Nyabihu, Rutsiro and Rubavu districts.

"Cows can also suffer from it when there are delays in milking,” he added, advising dairy farmers to treat their cows on time, when infection is at an early stage so as to prevent more losses.

He advised farmers to use tools for milking. A tool kit costs between Rwf15,000- Rwf20,000.

Local authorities said however that apart from the disease affecting cattle, Gishwati farmers still face challenges related to the transportation of milk production.

Vice Mayor for Rutsiro District Emmanuel Uwizeyimana said they have plans to build infrastructures such as roads to facilitate Gishwati farmers.

He says over 50 km of roads are not in good condition, a challenge which delays the delivery of quality milk to the market on time.

"The district continues to find out ways of providing enough infrastructure in Gishwati farms as per resources and district stakeholders,” Uwizeyimana said.

According to Rutsiro District, providing infrastructure is in line with the District Development Strategy for five years, which will see many roads repaired to facilitate milk production in Gishwati farms.