Tea growers have been urged to embrace quality along the value chain if they are to gain from the crop, 

Issa Nkurunziza, the National Agricultural Export Board (NAEB) head of tea division, said quality is a must if the country’s tea is to attract better prices on the international market.

He was speaking during the graduation of 100 tea growers from Nyamasheke, Karongi and Rutsiro districts over the weekend.

The group had undergone an eight-month training programme on modern farming and tea processing techniques as part of government’s efforts to boost production and quality along the tea value chain.

Nkurunziza said the training that was conducted by NAEB under the PRICE project is expected to benefit 6,000 smallholder farmers. The programme that will run for a period of three years is also aimed at promoting the farmer field schools among tea growers, he added.

Nkurunziza said farmers involved in coffee, tea, silk and horticultural production will benefit from the programme that also seeks to improve household incomes through integration of key export-driven agricultural value chains.

Pelagia Uwamariya, a tea farmer in Nyamasheke and one of the participants, said such training programmes help build the capacity of farmers, especially in post-harvest which is important to ensure tea quality.

"All stakeholders should understand the importance of modern technologies in farming and product processing.

"It is through these initiatives that the sector will be able to benefit farmers and the country,” Uwamariya said.

The participants called for more capacity building programmes, saying they will help equip them with skills required in the tea sector. The government seeks to increase exports by 28 per cent per year by 2018 under the second Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS II).

Rwanda’s tea export earnings increased by 27 per cent to over $6 million in July despite an 18 per cent drop in the export volumes. The country exported 1.8 million kilogrammes during the month, down from 2.2 million kilogrammes in July last year.

NAEB targets to increase tea export receipts to $94.9 million by 2018, up from $65.7 million in 2013.

Meanwhile, NAEB seeks to increase the average production level to 3,000 metric tonnes of dry tea per annum, according to Pie Ntwari, the head of communications and public relations.