Government Eyes Dairy Board to Revolutionize Milk Sector
The government is actively exploring the establishment of a dedicated dairy board, a move poised to bring significant regulatory oversight and address long-standing challenges within the nation’s milk industry. This proposed body aims to streamline the entire milk value chain, tackling issues such as escalating production costs, the often-meagre returns for dairy farmers, and a persistent lack of cohesive coordination among various stakeholders.
Jean Claude Ndorimana, Director General for Animal Resources Development at the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI), articulated the vision for this new institution. He explained that the dairy board would serve to bolster the governance of the dairy sector, drawing valuable insights from successful models implemented in countries like Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and India. These nations have demonstrated the efficacy of similar regulatory bodies in fostering a more robust and organised dairy industry.
“A dairy board helps to oversee the entire milk value chain,” Ndorimana stated. “In other countries, these institutions are strong and play a key role in regulating the sector.”
Empowering Farmers and Ensuring Quality
One of the key benefits anticipated from the dairy board is its potential to empower farmers, enabling them to resolve issues such as delayed payments more effectively and without solely relying on government intervention. Ndorimana pointed to India’s successful system as a prime example. In India, milk delivered to collection centres is rigorously graded based on its quality and fat content, which directly influences the payment received by farmers.
This organised approach, he elaborated, not only benefits farmers but also consumers. By implementing structured collection and stringent quality control processes, the system ensures that only safe and high-quality milk reaches the market. “The board would help ensure fair milk pricing and address challenges related to inputs needed in dairy farming,” Ndorimana added.
A task force is currently engaged in drafting the foundational concept for the dairy board, alongside the necessary presidential order. This crucial phase is anticipated to conclude by April, after which extensive consultations with all relevant stakeholders will commence. The proposal has already garnered attention in parliamentary sessions, with lawmakers seeking updates on its progress.
Farmers Advocate for a Stronger, Inclusive Structure
The prospect of a functional and empowered dairy board has been met with enthusiasm from dairy farmers. Sperto Gahiga Gashumba, president of the Nyagatare Dairy Farmers Union, expressed that such a body is long overdue. He recalled previous attempts to establish a similar structure, which, while initiated by farmers and stakeholders, lacked the necessary empowerment and ultimately transitioned into a company registered with the Rwanda Development Board (RDB), eventually being replaced by the Rwanda National Dairy Platform.
The Rwanda National Dairy Platform, while bringing together farmers, processors, milk traders, service providers, and some consumer representatives, currently suffers from a lack of complete representation and insufficient authority, according to Gashumba. “We need a board established by government order that brings together all players in the value chain and has the power to make and enforce decisions,” he asserted.
Gashumba highlighted Kenya’s dairy board as a model of effective regulation, noting its role in governing milk prices and enforcing sector-wide standards. He also shed light on the persistent challenges confronting dairy farmers, particularly the significant disconnect between the rising cost of production and the farmgate prices for milk.
“The market exists, but prices do not match the cost of inputs, which continues to burden farmers,” he stated, citing difficulties such as inadequate follow-up on veterinary services, limited access to superior breeds, and the absence of robust breeder associations to provide essential guidance to farmers.
For nearly two years, milk prices have hovered around Rwf400 per litre, even as the cost of essential inputs continues its upward trajectory. While an increase in milk prices could potentially impact consumers, Gashumba suggested that improving access to affordable animal feed could help achieve a more equitable balance.
“There is competition for crops like maize and soybeans, which are used for both human consumption and animal feed. We need to promote affordable fodder production,” he advocated, emphasizing the need to extend irrigation systems, commonly used in crop farming, to the livestock sector.
The Pursuit of Better Pricing and Enhanced Productivity
Echoing these concerns, Bienfait Karehe, president of the Dairy Farmers Union in Nyabihu District, stressed the potential of a dairy board to harmonise milk prices with the actual costs of production. “The first challenge is the mismatch between milk prices and investment costs. We believe the price should be at least Rwf600 per litre, instead of the Rwf400 we earn today,” Karehe contended.
Furthermore, Karehe underscored the critical need to enhance cattle breeds to significantly boost milk productivity. “Currently, the average production is about 15 litres per cow per day in Nyabihu. With better breeding, this could increase significantly, and the dairy board could play a role in achieving that,” he explained.
Stakeholders across the sector are optimistic that a well-structured and adequately empowered dairy board can effectively dismantle long-standing bottlenecks, paving the way for a more sustainable and ultimately more profitable dairy industry.
