Aid in Action

	Rwanda Specialty Coffee

Kigali, Rwanda│February 2007

In 2001, Rwanda was an unknown entity in the specialty coffee industry. Today, specialty coffee buyers the world over are seeking Rwandan fine coffees, and captains of this $2 billion industry make an annual trip to Rwanda to take advantage of its offerings.

Following a six-year, $10 million effort, the American people, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) are currently funding a new $6 million, five-year project that focuses on value chain management – that is, improving all the links in the chain “from the seed to the cup.”

Thanks in large measure to the technical assistance, training, and financial support provided by USAID, in 2007 some 50,000 Rwandan families are benefiting from the extraordinary growth and improvements in this agricultural sub-specialty. In 2002, after the U.S. began its first assistance program in this area, Rwanda produced 30 tons of specialty coffee; in 2006, 3,000 tons were produced — representing a 100-fold increase! Export revenue from this sub-sector has grown from zero dollars, to $8.5 million.

A loan guarantee program with the Banque of Kigali, and more recently Banque Commerciale du Rwanda (BCR), has injected much needed investment in the sector, and directly contributed to the construction of 12 coffee washing stations. A total of 75 washing stations, in which individual entrepreneurs are also investing, have been constructed since 2002, with another 25 expected by the end of this year.

Thousands of coffee farmers have formed coffee cooperatives, which in turn have contributed to the growth of villages and small towns where once there was only rural rubble; trained some of the world’s finest “cuppers” (professional coffee tasters); and improved the lives of thousands of Rwandans.

For example, the Abahuzamugambi cooperative in Maraba, the first cooperative to achieve international recognition for Rwandan high quality coffee, now has more than 1,500 dues-paying members, three washing stations, and 10 geographic zones so coffee can be grouped and quality-controlled based on area of origin.

Today, the U.S. and international demand for Rwanda’s fine quality Bourbon specialty coffee beans exceeds supply, which remains one of the industry’s key challenges.

High quality Rwandan coffee is good for the international coffee industry. It’s even better for Rwandans. High quality coffee means higher incomes for the farmers, better lives for their families, and more cohesive communities, where people are working together for their common interests.

Rwanda Specialty Coffee February 2007