RWANDA – Rwanda’s National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB) has announced plans to distribute over 25 million coffee seedlings nationwide to replace aging coffee trees.
The initiative is part of a broader effort to rejuvenate the country’s coffee plantations, with 26.8 percent of the current 42,229 hectares of coffee plantations considered too old.
Eric Kabayiza, the Single Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) Coordinator at NAEB, revealed that the seedlings are being prepared in collaboration with community groups at the cell level.
The effort is initially focusing on key districts in the coffee value chain, including Karongi, Nyamasheke, Rusizi, Ruhango, Huye, and Nyamagabe.
Kabayiza highlighted that over 300 coffee nurseries have been established to produce approximately 9 million seedlings, which will replace aging trees in these districts.
“We will provide enough seedlings, free of charge, to everyone who needs to rejuvenate their coffee trees. Coffee farmers will get seedlings from their separate cells or anywhere else very close to them,” he said.
The rejuvenation project, dubbed Promoting Smallholder Agro-Export Competitiveness (PSAC), aims to restore 1,000 hectares of coffee plantations as part of an ongoing effort to replace 3,000 hectares of ageing coffee trees across 14 districts.
This initiative addresses the challenges faced by coffee farmers, particularly in the Kivu Belt region, where access to seedlings and resources for restoration has been limited.
This development comes as Rwanda prepares for the implementation of the European Union’s Deforestation Regulations (EUDR), set to take effect in January 2025.
The EUDR targets agricultural products like tea, coffee, and cocoa, as well as their derived products.
To ensure compliance, NAEB has partnered with beverage company JDE Peet and sustainability company Enveritas to address any potential violations of the EUDR mandate in coffee production.
The CEO of NAEB, Claude Bizimana, stated – “The new regulation presents Rwanda with a formidable challenge, and it’s imperative that we rise to meet it in the coming months”.
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