Pig and poultry are the most profitable livestock subsectors with a return on investments of more than 100 per cent, according to Otto Vianney Muhinda, Assistant Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Representative in charge of Programme.

However, Muhinda pointed out that for the productivity of those two livestock subsectors to be optimised, there is a need to ensure availability of nutritious and affordable feed – as the key input.

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He was speaking recently during the final reflection workshop of FAO’s Tropical Agriculture Platform (TAP), which focused on developing capacities in agricultural innovation systems (AIS).

Muhinda said, in Rwanda, the project focused on pig and poultry farming because it was realised that they have higher productivity potential in the country.

"Through strategic planning, we realised that if pig farming is effectively carried out, it is the top profitable livestock subsector in the country at 234 per cent, while poultry farming would follow with a profitability of up to 219 per cent,” he said.

"This implies that if you invest Rwf100 million in pig farming, you can get Rwf234 million in revenues in one cycle including sales of pig products, or if you invest Rwf100 million in poultry farming, you can harvest Rwf219 million in one cycle,” he said.

Through the study they carried out under the project, they found that the most important thing in the small livestock sector is animal feed, pointing out that lack of access to it was the biggest issue for the farmer.

He urged efforts to address the problem through scaling up production and stocks of raw materials such as maize and soybeans needed for feed production.

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Speaking to The New Times, the Chairperson of Rwanda Poultry Industry Association, Andrew Butare, said that the high cost of animal feed was a major concern for stockbreeders, exposing that it limits their production capacity when they cannot afford.

For instance, he said that the price of feed for layer chickens is Rwf580 a kilo currently, from Rwf345 in 2020, implying an increase of about 70 per cent over the last three years.

"The animal feed is expensive because the raw materials such as maize needed to make it are costly,” he said, suggesting that production of the ingredients should be increased.

Butare said that the costly feed does not only limit farmers’ capacity to expand their livestock businesses, but also make eggs and meat expensive for consumers.

At present, a tray of 30 eggs costs between Rwf3,700 and Rwf3900 at the farmer level, which is an increase 54 per cent compared to Rwf2400 in February and March 2020.

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The Director General for Animal Resources Development at the Ministry of Agriculture and Animals Resources, Jean Claude Ndorimana, said it was realised that the issue of access to quality and affordable feed persists.

However, he indicated that the Ministry was working with players in the livestock sector, especially animal feed factory owners so that they get the capacity.

"The major issue is that the animal feed factories lack the capacity to buy raw materials, mainly maize, which accounts for about 70 per cent of ingredients needed to produce the feed,” he said.

"So we work with factories through the various projects of the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources that help them to get means for buying such maize during harvest season (when prices are relatively low), so that they have stocks that can meet their demand up to the next harvest,” he said.

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Meanwhile, Ndorimana said that the country was considering the use of black soldier fly larvae as an alternative to the expensive fish meal — as well as soybean — most of which is imported.