By Rose Mukagahizi
As feed for small livestock continues to be a major challenge across the country, small-livestock farmers in Nyamasheke District, Kirimbi Sector, have introduced innovations to produce their own animal feed, with support from the PRISM project.
These farmers, who are organized under the Wisigara mu Iterambere cooperative group, say that after receiving livestock support from PRISM, they started thinking about how to find lasting solutions by producing feed for their animals themselves.
Charlotte Nyirasengiyumva, a resident of Kirimbi Sector, says she used to keep pigs but stopped because she could not afford feed. However, after being trained by the PRISM project on how to make animal feed using black soldier fly larvae (Inigwahabiri) and Azolla, she has returned to pig farming.
She said: “Before we started raising these larvae, we were keeping pigs, but it wasn’t encouraging. Now the feed we give pigs is rich in body-building nutrients, which helps pigs gain weight quickly. Within six months, a pig can reach 150 kilograms.”
Aimable Nzayisenga, the representative of the Wisigara mu Iterambere group, was among those trained by PRISM in making animal feed by raising black soldier fly larvae and using Azolla.
He explains that in the past, animal feed was very expensive because they had to order it from Kigali. He says they have now reached a promising level where they can solve the problem by producing feed on their own.
He said: “Animal feed is no longer a problem where we live. A pig fed on larvae and Azolla grows well.”
In addition to producing feed for their own animals, they are now exploring ways to sustain their activities by starting a business that sells animal feed.
The Executive Secretary of Kirimbi Sector, Emmanuel Uwizeyimana, commends PRISM for programs that have helped lift some residents out of poverty.
He said: “PRISM came as a solution for vulnerable families because many have managed to move out of poverty. I appreciate the innovations through which citizens were supported to find solutions and produce animal feed themselves, because normally it reached here at a very high cost, which discouraged some people from farming.”
A report by the Rwanda Governance Board (RGB) showed that 57.9% of citizens complain about the availability of animal feed.
PRISM is a project implemented by the Government of Rwanda in partnership with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), through the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI), and executed under the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB).
