Livestock producers and traders in the Eastern Province are advocating for the implementation of a standardised measurement scale during auction sales of livestock. They argue that the current system of estimating weight based on visual assessments leads to discrepancies and unfair pricing, which negatively impacts both buyers and sellers.

Normally, livestock body weight is the basis for determining ration amounts and sale prices. However, in informal direct negotiations during which livestock is not weighed, visual assessment is the only method used to judge the price. Actors in the livestock business in the Eastern Province believe that a standardized measurement scale would provide a more accurate and transparent way of determining the weight of the livestock, thus ensuring fair pricing for all parties involved in the livestock trading industry.

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Innocent Rwabagabo, a cattle trader in Gatsibo District, has been doing business for 12 years. For him, the livestock value chain, mainly in trading, has to be upgraded, and authorities should consider implementing a standard measurement scale.

He said, "A breeder spends a lot to ensure that the cattle meet the highest percentage of growth. If the seller or buyer lacks negotiating power or has a poor flow of information on the livestock market and its transactions, either the producer or buyer leaves the auction unsatisfied. Using a naked eye assessment as the measurement unit needs to be upgraded.”

Currently, there is no way for actors in the business to know whether the weight of the animal they are buying is accurate or not. The discrepancies in weight estimation based on visual appearance in the Eastern Province have been largely influenced by the existing social network, brokers, and other actors in the livestock trading industry.

While some, like Johnson Ntigurirwa, a butcher in Kayonza District, use this network to vet beef cows, he believes a more standardized measurement scale is necessary to avoid losses in the business.

He said, "The visual assessment of beef cows during trading has occasionally led to losses in my business. Normally, we look at the frame, structure, muscularity, and fatness of the cow, but we cannot distinguish between the carcass weight and the muscle score.

In some instances, you can buy a cow that is appealing to the eye but unfortunately loaded with more fat, which is a loss. There is a need for a standardized measurement of at least knowing the weight of the animal before buying it so that consumers can have confidence that they are getting what they paid for,” Ntigurirwa said.

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To address the concerns raised by actors in the livestock trading business, Jean Leonard Sekanyange, Gatsibo District Vice Mayor in charge of Economic Development, has allocated over Rwf 53m to buy a mobile weighing scale that will be used at the Rwimbogo and Kabarore livestock auction markets, in a bid to shift from informal to formal livestock measurements.

He said, "A tender has been issued, and by June, buyers and sellers will start using the weighing scale. The district has allocated more than Rwf 53 million to purchase the scale; it is now in the final procurement process, and actors will no longer use the naked eye to measure livestock weight. Instead, they will buy an animal based on the price per kilogramme relative to its weight.”

Other districts in the Eastern Province will each have a weighing scale, as revealed by Dr Fabrice Ndayisenga, the Head of the Department of Animal Resources Research in the Rwanda Agricultural Board.

Speaking to The New Times, he said, "Every district in the Eastern Province and other regions with large auction markets have received Rwf 55 million to purchase weighing scales for livestock. Farmers had complained of losses caused by naked-eye measurements; we now urge them to take care of their livestock so that by the time of sale they meet the required weight, which will increase the farmers’ profitability.”

Currently, the livestock trading business in the Eastern Province is conducted in both primary and secondary markets. Livestock is sold from the farms in the primary market between the breeder and the buyers, or traded at secondary markets, which include auction markets available in the province.

As of today, the visual assessment method is still the only measurement scale available during the trade; however, authorities have affirmed that more than Rwf 350 million has been earmarked to purchase weighing scales in the Eastern Province. This would not only harmonize the business, but also provide a more accurate and transparent way of determining the weight of the livestock, and ensure fair pricing for all parties involved.

Currently, there are 16 livestock auction markets in the Eastern Province.