Revolutionizing animal feed production in Rwanda: Gorilla Feed Factory opens its doors
By Justin Kayiranga
Gorilla Feed Factory, a feed mill facility, was officially inaugurated on July 11, 2024. The factory’s opening marks a significant milestone in livestock farming sector, promising to revolutionize animal feed production and provide substantial benefits to farmers.
Equipped with advanced technology, the facility clings to the highest standards of quality and is designed to produce a wide range of animal feeds, catering to various livestock needs including poultry, swine among others.
Dr. Sang Ju Park, the managing director of Gorilla Feed company, revealed that the inaugurated factory is expected to boost their production which will address the enduring issues of animal feed scarcity faced by livestock farmers across the country
“Before, we used to face a shortage in animal feed production because of our factory capacity. However, with this new facility, we will be able to supply quality feed continuously as the factory can process 20 tonnes per hour and it will work 10 hours per day.” Says Dr Sang.
Farmers are poised to reap significant benefits from the establishment of the factory thanks to the consistent supply of high-quality animal feed which will lead to healthier livestock, improved growth rates, and higher yields.
Anne Karemera, a poultry farmer with 12,000 chickens, attested that “I used to buy and mix feed by myself because we didn’t have a reliable factory to process animal feed. This often resulted in making chickens less productive because they were not getting quality feed.
Representing the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources at the grand opening of Gorilla Feed new factory, Dr. Fabrice Ndayisenga lauded Gorilla Feed for this factory stressing that its production will contribute to Rwanda’s journey to achieving zero-grazing.
He added that “Having animal feed factories like this will help farmers because they used to face challenges of fluctuating animal feed prices which in turn led to low livestock production.”
About $ 4 million were spent in the construction of this factory.
Gorilla Feed is among the top 5 animal feed processing companies that were financially supported by the government of Rwanda through the National Industrial Research and Development Agency (NIRDA), with a loan grant of more than Rwf 1 billion, and every company is supposed to pay back 50% of their loans with regards to the amount they received at zero interest rate.
For Gorilla Feed Company, they received Rwf 600 million and are supposed to pay back only Rwf 300 million whereas the remaining balance was granted to them.
