Rwanda's poultry sector is experiencing an unprecedented surge in demand for day-old chicks, which far exceeds current domestic capacity, and has prompted local firms to ramp up production instead of relying on imports, it has emerged.

According to the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB), the demand has skyrocketed to more than 16.6 million day-old chicks, compelling local chick firms to significantly boost production.

This is about three times the current production capacity that stands at more than 5.5 million day-old chicks (by hatcheries including Uzima Chicken, easy hatch, Elias Grower, and Eddy Farm), as per data from RAB.

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Daniel Ngendahayo, a chicken farmer in Kigali City, shared his insights on the current situation, emphasising that while increased demand during summer is typical, this year has seen an even higher spike in consumption.

"Normally, consumption increases in the summer, but this year, it has gone up even more. All the hatcheries we contacted are out of stock. The hens we have are either old or currently laying eggs, which makes it a bit challenging," he said, pointing to insufficient supply.

"The lack of young chicks is a significant challenge, because old hens and those currently laying eggs cannot meet the market&039;s demands, especially during peak seasons like summer where people are having weddings and other ceremonies going on.”

Poultry entities are considering importing chicks from neighbouring countries such as Uganda, which is crucial to ensure that we can sustain our production levels and meet consumer demand, he said.

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Theoneste Sikubwabo, Operations Director at Uzima Chicken Rwanda, told The New Times that their firm faced an unexpected surge in demand from May 2023.

While the firm has a capacity to hatch 830,000 day-old chicks per month, the monthly demand reached an unmanageable 1.2 million.

This, he said, caught them off guard, attributing the increase in demand to seasonal factors like weddings and other occasions in May, June, and July, as well as a general rise in chicken consumption in the country.

"To address this issue, we have initiated an expansion project to increase our production capacity to 1.7 million chicks per month. The first phase of the expansion will be completed by January 2025, and phase two by May 2025 will also be complete. We believe that after this expansion, we will be able to meet the demand of both local and international markets,” Sikubwabo said.

"We are also constructing two modern farms to house 25,000 parent stock [chickens to lay eggs for hatching] each, ensuring a steady supply. Previously, we replaced parent stock twice a year, but now we plan to do it three times annually to avoid production gaps.”

Sikubwabo also said that they are working closely with the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI) and RAB, about the high demand issues and proposed solutions to sustainably address the challenge.

With these concerted efforts, Rwanda's poultry sector is poised to achieve self-sufficiency and continue its trajectory of growth.

Solange Uwituze, Deputy Director General in charge of Animal Resources Development at RAB, attributes this spike to various factors, including the profitability and manageability of chicken farming, extensive capacity building, availability of poultry feeds, and improved access to vaccines and drugs, among others.

"The growing interest in poultry farming has led to a notable rise in the number of poultry farmers. Initiatives by organizations such as ENABEL, IFAD, and Orora Wihaze [a USAID-funded project to develop livestock value chains and increase consumption of animal-sourced foods such as eggs and meat] have provided training to over 20,000 farmers, enhancing their skills and knowledge in poultry management,” Uwituze told The New Times.

"Additionally, Rwanda now boasts 10 feed millers and improved access to essential vaccines and drugs, further supporting the sector's growth.”

To meet the soaring demand, Uwituze said, all the hatcheries in the country are increasing their capacities in producing day-old chicks. Importing chicks is also an option being explored, alongside the construction of a new hatchery in Bugesera (it will have more capacity than existing hatcheries).