Rwanda FW A - Kivu Belt Coffee (2015/16)

Kivu Belt Farm was founded in 2009 and includes a community of hard working people from the western part of Rwanda. Their goal is to ensure a bright future for the next generation by producing high quality coffee, increasing profitability and economic development. The farm is near the village of Gihombo, in the Nyamasheke district. The farm cultivates 43 hectares of coffee.There are about 400,000 families who farm coffee in Rwanda, and the average family owns around 450 coffee trees, but they also harvest sorghum, beans, sweet potatoes and vegetables. Coffee has been a major source of revenue for Rwanda since it was introduced by German missionaries a century ago. For most of this time, the state controlled nearly all stages of production. But then, after the genocide, the coffee industry was privatized. This opened up new markets and avenues for selling coffee. In 2000, farmers from Rwanda's first coffee cooperative earned around $0.20 for one kilogram of ordinary coffee. In 2011, these same farmers got roughly $3.50 per kilogram.