Artificial Insemination, drone semen delivery advance Rwanda’s pig farming

By Elias Hakizimana.

Pig farming has become a money-making business mainly driven by technology where some farmers have adopted Artificial Insemination (AI) to produce new and highly productive pig breeds, which in return boosts their wealth.

Artificial Insemination by the semen of the high genetic merit boars proved to support genetic improvement in Rwanda’s pig population, hence increasing yields.

Since its application, this technology has also improved the income of pig farming families and quality of the pork.

It is eye-catching to see the intact boars of the species such as Landrace, Duroc and Pietrain, which are now available in Rwanda, ejaculating semen that will be inseminated into sows to help many farmers get such breeds.

Inseminators in Rwanda are professional veterinary doctors and it was made easier for them to access fresh and preserved quality semen from modern boars through a rapid transportation by drones that take off from Zipline Rwanda, a local firm specialised in unmanned and on-demand air deliveries.

Around the world, the use of Artificial Insemination in pigs has increased considerably thanks to the advantages it offers in the short, medium and long term such as advance in genetic improvement, avoid direct contact of the male during mating as that can spread diseases, evaluate sperm quality and thus ensure the success of fertilization, among others.

In 2009, Government of Rwanda through the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board adopted Pig Artificial Insemination with imported pig semen by CPPA Kisaro (Centre de Perfectionnement et de Promotion Agricole de Kisaro).

Since the adoption of AI in pigs, the Government invested-in many efforts to optimize the control of reproductive performance of the pigs.

Many sows have been inseminated, many AI piglets have been weaned and the superior germplasm have been disseminated to many farmers and testimonies are very promising.

“We no longer have fake piglets that could come from close relationships and my pigs cannot fall sick because I cannot borrow boars. Pig AI Technology improved my sows’ health. Inseminated pig gives birth to many healthy piglets that are ready to be eaten in six months. We cannot also lose much money for treatment as they are more resistant to diseases than bio-pigs, ” said Jean Claude Shirimpumu, a pig farmer from Gicumbi District.

The move in general was to help Rwandan pig farmers to develop farms and get access to quality pig semen.

In April 2021, the government of Rwanda through the Rwanda Agricultural and Animal Resources Board (RAB) launched research programs on small livestock farming including pigs, chickens and rabbits to solve challenges facing farmers in terms of low productivity.

Locally made drones expediting swine semen transport

According to Dr. Solange Uwituze, the Deputy Director General in charge of Animal Resources Research and Technology Transfer at Rwanda Agricultural and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB), there is a partnership between RAB and Rwanda Development Board (RDB) that currently has an agreement with Zipline.

Since this move started two months ago, Muhanga Zipline center has sent around 1,200 doses of pig semen to various farmers countrywide. Veterinary doctors receive them at a known nearby hospital in only five minutes after sending the order, while it could take hours in case of car transport.

Dr Solange encourages pig farmers to order the semen with Zipline drone transport as it eases their job and without extra charges apart from the cost of Semen.

Providence Manikuzwe, the project coordinator in charge of delivering pig semen by drone transport at Zipline said that there is a strong coordination in delivering the semen to farmers.

“After RAB technicians send us the pig semen, we keep them in our special cold stores then a veterinary doctor with the order from a farmer calls RAB for that request. RAB is the one to tell us the quantity needed then we immediately send a drone that deposits the semen to the veterinary doctor in only five minutes.” Manikuzwe said.

Muhanga zipline drone center works with 400 health facilities in various sectors that help a veterinary doctor to recuperate the pig semen following his/her nearest place.

Currently, there are two sites of zipline that supply pig semen with drones, one of Muhanga and another of Kayonza in the Eastern Province with the capacity to send semen to 300 veterinary doctors every day.

The semen is collected and safely stored in seven days after being collected from boars.

Before this transport facility, pig conception could fail as a veterinary doctor would make a long journey to RAB headquarters to take the semen and reach the pig when it is no longer in heat [when its estrus is over], according to Manikuzwe.

Also, a citizen would pay Rwf3,500 for pig semen plus transport fees of a veterinary doctor who used to bring them from RAB headquarters. Now, the transport fees are paid by the Government as subsidies to help farmers.

Sylvestre Safari, a researcher at RAB said that Rwanda has imported 13 male boar pigs that are resistant to diseases and give quality produce in a short period.

Safari said that they have more sites of boar pigs to give semen to farmers in Gicumbi, Bugesera and Rwamagana districts, adding that they are targeting Rusizi district.

So far, 500 veterinary doctors in Rwanda have been trained on Artificial Insemination. Safari added that piglets from an inseminated pig grow faster than those born from a female pig mated by a boar. Besides, he said, they have a high level of body immunity.

“There is a hope that a well-done insemination succeeds at 85 percent. We have provided 1,471 doses of semen and 1,234 of inseminated pigs conceived,” he said.

The Rwanda Livestock Master Plan targets to increase pig meat production by 239 percent from 19,945 tonnes in 2016/17 to 67,076 tonnes by 2021/22.

According to the Agricultural Household Survey of 2020, Rwanda’s pig population was estimated at 1.2 million.

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