Project description / objective
To sustainably increase the availability of, access to, and consumption of animal-sourced foods (ASF) through the development of a profitable market.
Focusing on four small livestock value chains: pig, poultry, fish, and small ruminants (goat and sheep), Orora Wihaze will:
- Strengthen private sector led ASF value chains
- Increase demand for ASF consumption for women and children.
Market system focus
Households in Rwanda do not regularly consume ASF, particularly meat and egg products. This is because of dietary norms and the cost and availability of ASF in rural areas. Lack of appropriate financing and poor coordination between public and private sector actors exacerbates this.
Pigs
There is a relatively low consumption of pork in Rwanda. Most pork is exported informally to countries such as DRC that will pay more. Key challenges include:
- limited abattoirs available to slaughter pigs
- very limited value-added production
- lack of pig genetic material and limited organised breeding schemes
Fish
Rwanda produces 30,000 metric tons of fish annually, against a demand of 80,000 metric tons. Most is exported. Local consumption is low. Key challenges include:
- lack of quality inputs (young stock and feed)
- overfishing; weak farmer-based organisations
- insufficient aquaculture technologies, innovations and advisory services
Poultry
Poultry is one of the most expensive ASF products in Rwanda, making it unaffordable for many. Key challenges include:
- lack of locally-produced day-old chicks
- lack of hygienic slaughter conditions
- lack of proper poultry health, housing and overall husbandry
- insufficient quality poultry feed and high feed costs
Small ruminants
Goat meat is popular especially at holidays, while sheep less so. Demand is growing for goat meat. It is more affordable than other ASFs. Key challenges include:
- little investment
- low productivity of local breeds
- lack of farmer-based organisations
- insufficient enforcement of standards and regulations
- lack of processing facilities
Programme interventions
Strengthen private sector-led ASF value chains
Development of ASF production
Targeting a series of interconnected constraints that currently affect the production of ASF across Rwanda.
Partnerships include:
- AfriSol outgrower model (poultry value chain):
Private sector actor providing bundled inputs (capital, equipment, feed, day-old chicks) and services (training) to smallholder farmers who raise the chickens.
Constraints addressed: lack of poultry inputs, lack of access to markets for poultry producers, lack of animal husbandry knowledge. - Ox Delivers inputs distribution (pig, poultry, small ruminants value chains:
Private transportation actor providing last mile distribution and logistics services to animal feed.
Constraint addressed: lack of inputs, lack of last mile delivery services
Development of end market access
Orora Wihaze addresses barriers that limit how ASF producers reach markets.
Partnerships include:
- A-Z Pig Ltd pork products (pig value chain):
Private sector actor processing pork and selling it in rural communities at an affordable price.
Constraints addressed: lack of market access for pork producers, limited distribution of pork, lack of affordable pork products - GACOPROCO Ltd egg collection and distribution (poultry value chain):
Smallholder producer aggregating eggs from fellow producers and selling collectively in the community.
Constraints addressed: lack of market access for egg producers
Development of financial services markets
Addresses a series of constraints that hinder ASF market actors’ access to finance.
Partnerships include:
- Vision Fund Rwanda (VFR) (all value chains):
Orora Wihaze is providing technical assistance to increase VFR’s capacity to provide loans to the ASF sector for production, aggregation and processing.
Constraints addressed: lack of ASF financing knowledge, lack of appropriate loan products - USAID Nguriza Nshore and Association of Microfinance Institutions of Rwanda (all value chains):
These organisations, together with Orora Wihaze, are training SACCOs to develop financial products tailored to rural producers and MSMEs in the ASF sector.
Constraints addressed: lack of ASF financing knowledge, lack of appropriate loan products
Increase demand for ASF consumption for women and children
Development of nutrition extension
Engaging and collaborating with multi-sectoral stakeholders to increase community awareness on ASF nutritional value and health benefits, especially for infants, young children and women of reproductive age.
Partnerships include:
- National Childhood Development Agency (NCDA) nutrition policy (all value chains):
A government agency advancing and disseminating messages on the importance of ASF and its nutritional value for women and children.
Constraints addressed: lack of consumer knowledge on use and consumption of ASF, low accessibility of ASF-related messages - Rwanda Interfaith Council on Health (RICH) ASF consumption messaging (all value chains):
A faith-based organisation delivering social and behaviour change activities at the community level to promote ASF consumption, facilitate interpersonal communications etc.
Constraints addressed: low accessibility of ASF-related messages
Development of ASF product market
Co-investing in the development of innovative and affordable ASF products and corresponding infrastructure such as abattoirs and cold storage.
Partnerships include:
- JFILEWO abattoir (poultry value chain):
Private business aggregating and processing poultry in a rural community.
Constraints addressed: lack of poultry cold chain, lack of poultry processing facilities, lack of hygienic processed products, lack of affordable poultry products - Hope and Fine fish products (fish value chain):
Private business aggregating and distributing small fish and tilapia through improvements in transportation, processing, packaging and affordability in rural communities.
Constraints addressed: lack of fish cold chain, lack of hygienic fish products, lack of affordable fish products
Development of women’s empowerment programming
Partnering with private sector actors to pilot new ideas that make the ASF sector more inclusive of women, youth and persons with disabilities.
Partnerships include:
- Community-Based Savings Groups (CBSGs) and cooperatives (all value chains):
Orora Wihaze is promoting ASF-based inclusive business models to CBSGs and coops, largely comprised of marginalised groups, who then pilot various ASF-orientated business schemes such as offspring sharing models. These groups also receive animal husbandry training, village nutrition school sessions, and linkages to financial institutions.
Constraints addressed: low involvement by women, youth and persons with disabilities in the production, marketing and trade of small livestock, lack of financial services and products available to these groups and rural communities - Rwanda Youth in Agribusiness Forum (RYAF) (all value chains):
Private sector forum supported by the government conducting a youth internship programme whereby youth are empowered to pursue small livestock agribusiness opportunities.
Constraints addressed: low involvement of youth in small livestock agribusiness
Notable results (systemic change, poverty impact)
Orora Wihaze undertook a comprehensive market systems midline evaluation in mid 2022 to understand if any changes are occurring in the system that the programme may or may not have influenced. This included three custom market system index indicators in comparison to values measured in 2020. Evaluators interviewed 335 key informants in the supply, inputs and enabling sectors.
Business Innovation Index (BII)
This measures the level of innovation in a market system.
- There is an increasing level of business model innovation across all market system functions compared to baseline, including in product, process, marketing, and organisational changes (an improvement of 33 per cent compared to baseline).
- Input suppliers and some ASF supply chain actors (but not many producers) are adopting more new business practices, especially in ASF processing innovations.
Cooperation and Trust Index
This measures market actors’ expectation of cooperation and trust in their business transactions and interactions with each other.
- The index largely remained unchanged compared to baseline; trust increased by 15 per cent and cooperation decreased by 14 per cent.
- Respondents, especially smallholder livestock producers, appreciate and expect increased flows of information and credit that can enable more productivity from their ASF business.
Ecological factors affecting ASF
Consumption measures the contextual aspects of the market system, in the home and community, that may influence the choices that people make, specifically about consuming ASF. The term 'ecological' refers to a broad range of factors (individual, interpersonal and institutional) within one's environment that influence dietary consumption decisions.
- The index increased by 32 per cent across institutional, interpersonal, and individual factors.
- Compared to baseline, respondents expected that more ASF will be served and should be consumed, especially by women and children, in the household and socially beyond the household.
Impact on poverty
While Orora Wihaze does not specifically measure poverty rates amongst participants, some indicators tracked suggest reduced poverty (increased sales, improvements in minimum acceptable diet) or could contribute to reduction in poverty in the future (improved agricultural practices and increased yield of agricultural commodities).
- 36,813 participant households have applied improved livestock practices
- 7,789 participant households have increased their incomes from targeted livestock by at least 30 per cent
- 49 per cent increase in yield of swine by programme-supported producers
- 27.5 per cent of children 6-23 months of participant households are receiving a minimum acceptable diet (against a baseline of 16.6 per cent)
[Updated May 2023]