Rwanda Transport Development Agency (RTDA) has blamed heavy rains and the impacts of climate change for persistent delays in repairing roads in Gishwati farms, in Ngororero District.

Dairy farmers in the area say the slow pace of road upgrades is causing significant losses, as poor roads make it difficult to deliver milk to markets on time.

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"They brought a machine a year ago, and we were overjoyed, thinking the long-standing problem was finally over. But the contractor has caused continuous losses. The road is now worse than before, muddy and impassable,” said Justin Nsengimana, a farmer from Bugarura Cell, Muhanda Sector. "Production currently exceeds 5,000 liters per day, yet we struggle to deliver it to the Mukamira factory.”

The 25.2-kilometre emergency works for temporary repair of murram roads project aims to connect Gishwati Milk Collection Centres (MCCs) to the main highway in Ngororero District, facilitating milk transport to the Mukamira dairy plant in Nyabihu District. The project covers three sections: Kabaya-Rubaya-Bweru (17 km), Rubaya-Muhumyo-Bugarura (3 km), and Bweru-PENEAP (5.2 km). Progress currently stands at 37.5%.

Completion is expected by April 2026, according to RTDA.

The project has been significantly disrupted by heavy rainfall, a direct effect of climate change, RTDA said in a statement to The New Times.

"The contractor is working hard to fast-track the project and catch up the time lost due to heavy rain," reads the statement.

Shared by three districts, Gishwati farms continue to suffer from poor road conditions where in Ngororero District, for example, local authorities estimate only nine out of 55 kilometres that have been upgraded, while in Rutsiro District, 29 kilometres remain in poor condition, pending resource availability.

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The Mayor of Ngororero District, Christophe Nkusi, highlighted that the completion of the ongoing road is crucial for dairy farmers to deliver their milk to the market in a timely manner.

"Delivering milk to the Mukamira milk factory has been, and remains, a challenge because the roads in Gishwati are in such bad condition. This is the main problem,” Nkusi told the New Times.

"Upon completion, this will address a lot of problems, even if the project is not about constructing all the roads within the farms.”