6,000 doses of pig semen delivered by drones in one year

By The Inspirer.

Pig farmers in Nyamasheke District have highlighted that the program of receiving pig semen through drones has saved them from losses caused by relying on boars for breeding and poor quality piglets.

They revealed this on September 19, 2024, during the presentation of achievements made by the Orora Wihaze project in promoting livestock farming in this district, which is located in Rwanda’s Western Province.

Lucia Zigiriza, the project manager of Orora Wihaze, which is funded by USAID, mentioned that in Nyamasheke District and eight other districts where they operate, they trained livestock extension officers and taught farmers the benefits of artificial insemination to ensure they produce high-quality piglets.

This initiative led to an increase in demand for pig semen, prompting collaboration with Zipline, a company specializing in drone delivery services, to ensure timely delivery to the farmers.

The American company, which provides services for distributing equipment and goods using drones, reported that in collaboration with Orora Wihaze, they have delivered 6,000 doses of pig semen to farmers in the eight districts since October 2023.

Zipline employee Charity Rugo told IGIHE that they had delivered between 1,500 and 2,000 doses to Nyamasheke District alone.

“A farmer who needs pig semen informs a veterinarian, who then contacts the Rwanda Agriculture Board (RAB) station in Muhanga. They deliver the semen to us, and we send it to the farmer using drones. Within 45 minutes of placing an order, the farmer receives the semen, whereas it used to take about four hours,” she explained.

The Deputy Chairman of the Rwanda Pig Farmers Association, Alexis Mbaraga, stated that the use of drones to deliver semen to farmers has been effective.

“This method has improved the quality and reliability of piglets while reducing the spread of diseases among pigs,” he said.

Louis Manirahari, a pig farmer in Kanjongo Sector, Nyamasheke District, told IGIHE that before he began ordering pig semen, he used to rely on boars that spread diseases.

“In 2021, I used a boar with defects, and out of 33 piglets born from two sows, all died, forcing me to seek medical treatment for them. Since I started using semen, I haven’t faced that issue again,” he said.

The number of pigs in Rwanda has increased from 1.7 million in 2017 to over 2 million today.

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