This Development Plan for the Milk Industry (2016-2020) is a strategy which will contribute to achieving the millennium development goal (MDGs), especially in the areas of food security, gender empowerment, and poverty reduction. The mission of the strategy is to create conditions for the provision of wholesome, affordable milk, affordable milk products to benefit the largest numbers of consumers for both the local and regional markets on a sustainable basis. In order to make agriculture, forestry and fisheries more productive and sustainable, the strategy plans activities for improving livestock productivity. Activities include studies to examine the cost-benefits of certain interventions such as the importation of semen versus a bull station. The activities will result in average milk production increasing 75 percent by the end of year four for 10,000 dairy households. Activities address feeding systems, reproduction evaluations, and animal health delivery services. Furthermore, the government will support the strengthening of public sector research targeted to specific high potential agro-ecological areas for improved dairy production systems and link the results of the research to lead farmers and their contact farmers. To enable inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems, the strategy plans to increase volumes of dairy products sold within the region through emphasis on branding, quality, value addition, product diversification, and targeted trade missions. In addition, the strategy plans to increase safe dairy products for domestic and regional markets. This set of activities will address safe handling of milk along the value chain. This approach is essential if Rwanda is to pursue the goal of increasing regional market share. Trained technicians will be needed along the value chain to train, inspect, audit and certify that a quality milk chain exits. The Food Safety Manual will be updated for dairy products in line with standards. A plan to meet these standards can be done in forums and training sessions. Finally, the government will support both formal and informal milk channels with the long-term goal of moving actors in milk and dairy value chains from the informal to the formal. Pilot tests will be undertaken to create small businesses and support leadership among women’s groups, youth and farmers to enhance the marketing (feed, concentrates, mineral blocks, etc.) and retailing of dairy products in urban areas.
Китай · 2016-12-27