Rwanda Dairy Competitiveness Program II: Efficiency gains in dairy production systems decrease GHG emission intensity

The Rwanda Dairy Competitiveness Program II (RDCP II), a five-year project implemented by Land O’Lakes across 17 districts in Rwanda, aimed to reduce poverty by improving the production and marketing of quality milk. While the program led to an overall increase in total annual GHG emissions due to larger herd sizes and increased cow weight, it significantly reduced the GHG emission intensity per liter of milk produced in both extensive and intensive production systems.

• The RDCP II resulted in a significant reduction in GHG emission intensity—the amount of emissions per liter of milk produced. Extensive cattle production systems saw a reduction of approximately 4.11 tCO2e per 1000 liters of milk, a 60% decrease, while intensive production systems decreased intensity by approximately 1.7 tCO2e/1000 l, a 47% decrease.
• Despite the gains in efficiency, total annual GHG emissions in the project area increased by 12% compared to business-as-usual practices. This increase was driven by productivity-oriented interventions that increased cow weight (adding an estimated 34,904 tCO2e) and livestock herd size (adding an estimated 18,980 tCO2e).
• The program achieved a transformation toward more sustainable production patterns because the increase in milk output was proportionally much larger than the corresponding increase in GHG emissions.

APA

Climate and Development Knowledge Network (2016). Rwanda Dairy Competitiveness Program II: Efficiency gains in dairy production systems decrease GHG emission intensity. https://cdkn.org/resource/rwanda-dairy-competitiveness-program-ii-efficiency-gains-in-dairy-production-systems-decrease-ghg-emission-intensity

Chicago

Climate and Development Knowledge Network. Rwanda Dairy Competitiveness Program II: Efficiency gains in dairy production systems decrease GHG emission intensity. 2016. https://cdkn.org/resource/rwanda-dairy-competitiveness-program-ii-efficiency-gains-in-dairy-production-systems-decrease-ghg-emission-intensity.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |title=Rwanda Dairy Competitiveness Program II: Efficiency gains in dairy production systems decrease GHG emission intensity |date=9 December 2016 |url=https://cdkn.org/resource/rwanda-dairy-competitiveness-program-ii-efficiency-gains-in-dairy-production-systems-decrease-ghg-emission-intensity |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climateanddevelopmentknowledgenetwork2016rwanda, author = {{Climate and Development Knowledge Network}}, title = {{Rwanda Dairy Competitiveness Program II: Efficiency gains in dairy production systems decrease GHG emission intensity}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2016}, month = dec, url = {https://cdkn.org/resource/rwanda-dairy-competitiveness-program-ii-efficiency-gains-in-dairy-production-systems-decrease-ghg-emission-intensity}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }