Mycotoxins are fungal metabolites that contaminate crops, food, and animal feeds. Aflatoxins and fumonisins are among the mycotoxins that have been increasingly reported to affect health and productivity of livestock globally. Given that the health and productivity of livestock can directly influence human food safety and security, a study was conducted to assess the levels and factors for aflatoxin and fumonisin contamination in feed and feed ingredients in Rwanda. Aflatoxins and fumonisins were analyzed in 3328 feed and feed ingredient samples collected at six time points between March and October 2017 in all 30 districts of Rwanda. Of the 612 participants providing samples, there were 10 feed processors, 68 feed vendors, 225 dairy farmers, and 309 poultry farmers. Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) was used for aflatoxin and fumonisin analyses. Mean aflatoxin levels of 108.83 µg/kg (Median (MD): 43.65 µg/kg), 103.81µg/kg (MD: 48.4 µg/kg), 88.64 µg/kg (MD: 30.90 µg/kg), and 94.95 µg/kg (MD: 70.45 µg/kg) were determined for dairy farmers, poultry farmers, feed vendors, and feed processors, respectively. Mean fumonisin levels were 1.52 mg/kg (MD: 0.71 mg/kg), 1.21 mg/kg (MD: 0.56 mg/kg), 1.48 mg/kg (MD: 0.76 mg/kg), and 1.03 mg/kg (MD: 0.47 mg/kg) for dairy farmers, poultry farmers, feed vendors, and feed processors, respectively. Aflatoxin contamination was significantly affected by time of sampling and district from which feed samples originated (p < 0.05). Fumonisins did not show any correlation trends. Ninety-two percent of survey participants were unaware of aflatoxins and fumonisins and their adverse effects. This study has provided the basic understanding of the extent of feed contamination across the country and has established a baseline for future interventions in Rwanda. Further studies are needed to explore strategies for mitigating mycotoxins in the feed value chain in Rwanda.

The objective of this study was to assess the factors affecting the pregnancy rate (PR) in small scale dairy farms using artificial insemination (AI) in rural areas of Rwanda. The study was carried out during the period of January to May 2014 in 3 sectors of Kamonyi District namely Kayenzi, Karama and Kayumbu. In total, 90 cows in good health were randomly selected for insemination according to the AI protocol. At day 60 post AI, pregnancy diagnosis was made by transrectal palpation. The overall PR obtained was 42.2%. All intrinsic factors considered namely age, parity and cattle breed have a significant effect on PR; the cows with 4 years and less, parity between 4 and 6 and local and cross breeds had higher PR. Regarding the extrinsic factors, the level of education among farmers was very low (42.8% attended only primary education) and had a significant effect on PR. The majority of farmers don't have any record on farms (83.3%) and the more the farm is close to the inseminator office (< 3 km), the higher the PR (76%).

This study investigated the effects of feed on milk yield and quality through feed monitoring and quality assessment, and the consequent enteric methane gas emissions from smallholder dairy farms in drier areas of Rwanda, using the Tier II approach for four seasons in three zones namely; Mayaga and peripheral Bugesera (MPB), Eastern Savanna and Central Bugesera (ESCB), and Eastern plateau (EP). The study was carried out using 186 dairy cows with a mean live weight of 292 Kg in three communal cowsheds. The milk quality analysis was carried out on 418 samples. Data collected were subjected to ANOVA.The dry matter intake was lower (p<0.05) in the long dry season (7.24 Kg) with the ESCB zone having the highest value of 9.10 Kg. The Dry matter digestibility varied between seasons and zones ranging from 52.5 to 56.4% for seasons and from 51.9 to 57.5% for zones. The daily protein supply was higher (p<0.05) in the long rain season with 969 g. The mean daily milk production of lactating cows was 5.6 L with a lower value (p<0.05) during the long dry season (4.76 L) and MPB zone having the lowest value of 4.65 L. The yearly milk production per cow was 1179 L. The milk fat varied from 3.79 to 5.49% with a seasonal and zone variation. No variation was observed with milk protein. The seasonal daily methane emission varied from 150 g for the long dry season to 174 g for the long rain season (p<0.05). The mean emission factor was 59.4 Kg of methane/year. The methane emission per unit of milk production was lower in EP zone (46.8 g/L). Farmers should use high-quality feeds to increase the milk yield and reduce the methane gas produced per unit of milk

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