International Journal of Livestock Research ISSN 2277-1964 ONLINE Vol 5(3) March’15 Hosted@www.ijlr.org DOI 10.5455/ijlr.20150316053842 Page19 Factors Affecting the Pregnancy Rate In Small Scale Dairy Farms After The Artificial Insemination In Rural Area, Rwanda Nishimwe K., Bizimana J., Manishimwe R., Ayabagabo J., Byukusenge M., Habimana R. and Bareeba F. 2 School of Veterinary Medicine, College of Agriculture, Animal Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, University of Rwanda, PO Box 57 Nyagatare, (RWANDA) 2 School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Resources, College of Veterinary Medicine Animal Resources and Biosecurity, Makerere University, Uganda *Corresponding author: kiziton2000@yahoo.fr Rec. Date: Jan 12, 2015 09:05 Accept Date: Mar 20, 2015 17:10 Published Online: March 20, 2015 DOI 10.5455/ijlr.20150316053842 Abstract The objective of this study was to assess the factors affecting the pregnancy rate (PR) in small scale dairy farms using artificial insemination (AI) in rural areas of Rwanda. The study was carried out during the period of January to May 2014 in 3 sectors of Kamonyi District namely Kayenzi, Karama and Kayumbu. In total, 90 cows in good health were randomly selected for insemination according to the AI protocol. At day 60 post AI, pregnancy diagnosis was made by transrectal palpation. The overall PR obtained was 42.2%. All intrinsic factors considered namely age, parity and cattle breed have a significant effect on PR; the cows with 4 years and less, parity between 4 and 6 and local and cross breeds had higher PR. Regarding the extrinsic factors, the level of education among farmers was very low (42.8% attended only primary education) and had a significant effect on PR. The majority of farmers don’t have any record on farms (83.3%) and the more the farm is close to the inseminator office (< 3 km), the higher the PR (76%). Key words: Artificial insemination, Pregnancy rate, Cattle, Rural areas, Rwanda Introduction Agriculture is the cornerstone of the Rwandan economy contributing a third of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and more than 80% of the total population is involved in agriculture. This sector meets 90% of the national food needs and generates more than 70% of the country’s export revenues (RDB, 2014). The contribution to the GDP is made mainly by crop production (27%) while the livestock sector contributes 12% of the GDP according to the statistical year book (2013) of National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR). The livestock productivity is low because of poor genetic potential of indigenous breeds (Obese et al 2013). To improve this situation, the government of Rwanda has put in place many programmes by using the biotechnology mainly artificial insemination (AI) for improving the indigenous breeds.