Gicumbi: Small livestock farmers need MFIs support to boost the produce

By Elias HAKIZIMANA.

Godeliève Uwimana,32, from Gicumbi district has two large-white pigs, the mother-pig and a piglet. She started growing pigs from the donation support from PRISM project since a couple of months.

The mother of two children wishes to expand piggery project but fears high interest rate of the bank loans.

“The officials from Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) told us that they are ready to give us loans and advise on how to invest in piggery for high interests, myself I need a loan because I want to increase the piggery farm, I can request like Rwf500,000 at the beginning,” she says.

Uwimana plans to build her future with an expanded piggery farm and to grow cows for milk and compost.

Jean Nepomscene Nkurikiyimana, another pig farmer was also given a pig on June 26, 2022 (around 12 months ago), he was trained by PRISM project on the best practices to grow healthy and productive pigs.

He says that they need MFIs to come closer farmers on the field and see how to support them.

The fear to request loans

“We need MFIs advocacy and advise for us to know how we can request the money and the procedures to pay the interests, we need to expand our piggery projects from lower to the higher level, MFIs should move from offices to the field, we still fear loans due to the past experience of people who failed to pay back the loans and their properties were sold in auction,” he says.

Nkurikiyimana’s dream is to graduate from poverty level and move from 1 to 500 pig farm.

The good news is that development partners that include Enabel, the Belgian development agency through the Project for Inclusive Small Livestock Markets (PRISM), Cordaid, an internationally operating value-based emergency relief and development organization and Gicumbi district have organized a three-day training for Microfinance Institutions in Gicumbi district to encourage them to support pig farmers at a low interest rate of 8 percent.

The farmers and MFIs officials together with other value chain actors in piggery have met in Gicumbi on May 25, 2023, to discuss how farmers could be facilitated to get loans.

John Bahirwa, Branch Manager of SACCO-RUTARE, in Rutare sector, Gicumbi district said that they were trained on piggery and poultry farming to know how they are grown and how they are financially productive.

“We were convinced that these small livestock are productive enough and we are ready to give them a loan on 8 percent interest rate per year, the collateral we receive is like forest, farm, house worth 150 percent of the requested amount, for example, if an applicant needs Rwf1million loan, he/she must have a collateral worth Rwf1.5 million,” Bahirwa said, adding that they are ready to provide loan facilities and advice to the farmers on good profitability.

Vestine Mukaniyonzima, PRISM project field officer in Gicumbi said that they have organized the meeting with MFIs and pig farmers to find solutions to the financial challenges on the ground.

“We explained a bit about piggery to MFIs and other value chain actors, this is the first approach with MFIs, and we believe our farmers will get loans from the MFIs, we have two categories of citizens, from smallholder farmers to the big farmers in both piggery and poultry, we believe that they will get equal opportunities while seeking for the loans,” Mukaniyonzima said.

Speciose Mukarukaka, an official of PRISM project in Cordaid said that their role is on technical assistance to MFIs and SACCOs in capacity building to boost the value chain of small livestock, and one of the challenges they observed is lack of financial facilities in this farming sector.

She said that all the MFIs and SACCOs they work with have been capacitated in small livestock financing.

“We aim to see loans, savings and other financial services going to smallholder farmers, to different value chain actors in piggery and poultry as well as goats and ships, we also aim to see more innovative solutions because we currently provide loan assessment tools, for this particular project, we aim to provide a livestock financing assessment too and we are really grateful to be part of the innovative initiatives that Rwanda has in raising awareness and making sure that we increase productivity of this livestock,” Mukarukaka said.

Parfaite Uwera, the vice mayor of Gicumbi district in charge of Finance and Economic Development said that livestock population in the district focuses on piggery, poultry, sheep and goats that contribute to the livelihood development of the citizens.

“This is a significant step having MFIs collaborating with livestock farmers and other value chain actors, I encourage farmers to approach microfinance institutions to get loans and fast track development of their projects,” Uwera said.

Pig population accounts for 28,542 in Gicumbi district while poultry covers 65,060 chickens.

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