Mission

The mission of the Rwanda Animal Resources Development Authority (RARDA) is to contribute towards the growth of animal production through the development of appropriate technologies, providing advisory, outreach and extension services to stakeholders in the animal resources sector including provinces, districts, NGOs, farmers and farmer’s organizations, to allow them to modernize the sector in the framework provided by the national policy, PRSP, the vision 2020.

Strategies

RARDA approaches its tasks through different means. The first one is following the strategy of decentralization. The government of Rwanda has adopted a decentralization policy aiming at bringing services close to the population. According to this policy the Umurenge is going to be the focal unit for development. The services rendered will target an improved delivery at Umurenge level. This is done with the local staff of the respective districts. The control of animal disease in the country will address the control of epidemic diseases and pests.

RARDA’s current strategic plan will focus on programmed vaccinations against major epidemics, establishment of stock routes, check points along highways and established quarantine posts at the borders of this country. The control will also involve carrying out regular epidemio-surveillance for the major diseases in the country.

Working with decentralized local governments and operating in the major milk basins and strengthening the capacity of the national and regional laboratories, educating farmers will form a basic ingredient of the strategy.

With the presence of veterinary staff at Umurenge level, the delivery of services will improve as the staff will be able to offer extension services to the population more effectively. The services offered will be decentralized. There are satellite laboratories in the Southern Province, the Western Province and two in the Eastern Province capable of doing diagnostic and curative work instead of taking samples to be analyzed in Kigali.