Rwanda Dairy Competitiveness Program II Quarterly Report July 1 – September 30, 2016

The program aimed to link existing and new smallholder dairy producers to an expanding market demand driven by improved quality, reduced transaction costs, and increased investment along the dairy value chain. During the reporting quarter, RDCP II focused on smooth district completion and/or transition of activities and close out for all the 17 districts. This entailed working closely with the districts and Immigration department to submit individual district progress reports and formal hand over to relevant district officers. The project also worked with grant recipients to facilitate them to complete their implementation as scheduled. The team utilized a program close out checklist to guide proper close out monitoring across different areas of the project, including staff phased departure. The quarter was concluded with a series of close out workshops at the districts and a national pre-close out learning workshop co-hosted with the Directorate of Animal Resources at MINAGRI. Notably, with support from the project, Rwanda National Dairy Platform (RNDP) took a central role in the preparation of the 12th Africa Dairy Conference and Exhibition, which took place in Kigali from August 30 to September 2. The conference was preceded by a number of high-visibility events aimed at raising the profile of the advocacy platform to champion sector issues and facilitate policy dialogue in collaboration with government ministries MINICOM, MINAGRI, and their agencies. The project also supported a major initiative to build the capacity of milk collection cooperatives and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) using a tested tool AgPrO developed by Land O'Lakes. Using this tool, the project hired business consultants who were trained to utilize the tool working with RDCP II staff in the five milksheds to train users and monitor progress quarterly. A total of 112 dairy businesses (coops and SMEs) were evaluated and invited to express interest for the AgPro support. The number of coops and SMEs supported varied per period, with 41 cooperatives and 4 SMEs supported in January-April 2015, 50 cooperatives and 8 SMEs supported in July-September 2015, 58 cooperatives and 12 SMEs supported in October-December 2015, and 52 cooperatives and 17 SMEs supported in January 2016-July 2016. Land O'Lakes convened a national pre-close out learning workshop on September 21, with key stakeholders under the Livestock sub-working group framework in collaboration with the Directorate of Animal Resources at MINAGRI. The participants reviewed progress of the program against the broader National Dairy Strategy (NDS, 2013) and shared lessons toward sustainability of key initiatives as supported by the RDCP II program toward continued growth of the dairy subsector in Rwanda. The program focused on several implementation pillars, including improving productivity and production of dairy herds, improving milk quality, facilitating policy dialogue, and increasing milk consumption with great success. This was achieved through strong collaboration and engagement with public and private stakeholders to lead development and with very positive results attained over the years in all seventeen districts. The pre-close out workshop was a great opportunity for the team and stakeholders to learn and provide valuable feedback as the project prepares its close out in January 2017. The Director of Programs - Africa, Timothy Nzioka, was in Kigali along with Program Staff who attended the workshop and expressed gratitude to the dairy stakeholders in Rwanda for the support and collaboration during the implementation of the project. The workshop was also attended by representatives from MINAGRI and USAID. During the month of September, the project team organized the annual review meeting to look back at their achievements over 5 years and celebrate as the project ends in January 2017. Staff took time to congratulate each other for their contribution toward the success of the project. At the end of September, the project began its phased exit of staff with 12 members ending their contracts along with the last of the sub-implementing partners. The Rwanda Dairy Competitiveness Program II has made significant progress in improving the dairy sector in Rwanda, with a focus on increasing milk production, improving milk quality, and facilitating policy dialogue. The program has worked closely with public and private stakeholders to lead development and has achieved great success in all seventeen districts. The project's phased exit of staff marks the beginning of the end of the program, but its legacy will continue to benefit the dairy sector in Rwanda for years to come. The program's achievements include the establishment of a strong dairy sector working group, the development of a national dairy strategy, and the implementation of a number of initiatives aimed at improving milk production and quality. The program has also worked to increase milk consumption and has facilitated policy dialogue between government ministries and private sector stakeholders. The Rwanda Dairy Competitiveness Program II has been a successful example of a USAID-funded project that has made a significant impact on the dairy sector in Rwanda. The program