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

The Rwanda Dairy Competitiveness Program II (RDCP II) successfully reduced the GHG emission intensity of milk production in Rwanda, with extensive systems seeing a 60% decrease and intensive systems a 47% decrease. However, because productivity interventions increased herd size and cow weight, total annual GHG emissions in the project area rose by an estimated 12% compared to business-as-usual practices. Despite this absolute increase, the growth in milk output proportionally exceeded the increase in emissions, indicating a shift toward more efficient and sustainable production patterns.

• The RDCP II led to a significant reduction in GHG emission intensity—defined as emissions per liter of milk—across different production systems. Extensive cattle production systems reduced intensity by an estimated 4.11 tCO2e per 1000 l (-60%), and intensive systems reduced it by an estimated 1.7 tCO2e/1000 l (-47%).
• While emission intensity decreased, total annual GHG emissions in the project area increased by 12% compared to business-as-usual practices. This was driven by productivity-oriented interventions that increased cow weight (adding 34,904 tCO2e) and livestock herd size (adding 18,980 tCO2e).

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} }