With decades-old plantation and limited use of inputs among other factors, Rwanda’s coffee farming is losing its aroma.
With decades-old plantation and limited use of inputs among other factors, Rwanda’s coffee farming is losing its aroma. According to the coffee value chain players, the sector’s productivity remains minimal on the back of the ageing farmers and plantation, who are slow on adapting to changes and innovative farming mechanisms.
“As per agronomic practices, a coffee tree has to be rejuvenated after seven and ten years, but we now have coffee plantations that are 30 and 40 years old, without being rejuvenated,” Theopiste Nyiramahoro, a coffee farmer told Rwanda Today.
Ms Nyiramahoro, who has been on the helm of the Rwanda coffee growers for the last couple of years, noted that the aging coffee growers are always reluctant on refreshing their coffee plantations.
“Many farmers always say that if I cut it down to rejuvenate these trees, I will die of hunger and they keep harvesting a small quantities of berries,” Ms Nyiramahoro noted.
“As a coffee tree grows up and gets old, the only few branches from the top remain productive,” she added.
According to the official figures from the Coffee Farmers Federation, over 30 per cent of over 120 million trees of Rwanda’s coffee plantation very old, which sees the production per tree hangs between 800 grammes and two kilogrammes, against the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s average coffee yield of eight kilograms per tree.
Coffee farmers also pin the blame on the climate changes and limited use of the fertilisers, which is currently hovering between 50 and 60 per cent, and sees the production remains minimal.
“We are also below the recommended level of fertilisers’ utilisation in coffee plantations. While the coffee plantation needs fertiliser at least twice a year, for us we are not even getting enough for a single shot. With the limited fertiliser, the local farmers are urged to put that small amount available on the productive coffee trees,” Ms Nyiramahoro added.
Under the current structure, the coffee exporters pay Rwf97 on every single kilo exported meant for contributing into the acquisition of inputs for the coffee growers. However, with the coronavirus pandemic effects, the players are not able to contribute much to the fertilisers.
“Before the pandemic, we were getting fertiliser for around 60 per cent of the coffee plantation. The pandemic has seen the exporters’ contribution on the fertilizer's input go down,” Fulgence Sebazungu, president of Rwanda Coffee Cooperatives’ Federation told Rwanda Today.