Rehabilitating and replacing ageing coffee trees with new varieties could increase coffee yield per tree and boost coffee production from the current levels, officials at the National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB) say.

"Replacing old coffee trees could increase yield to 7-10 kilogrammes per tree from the current 2 kilogrammes,” Faustin Kabasha, coffee pest and disease control specialist at NAEB, told The New Times.

Rwanda Agriculture Board (RAB) has been incentivising the replacement of old trees, one of the biggest barriers to better productivity in the country, for the new RAB C15 variety.

However, some farmers have been reluctant in replacing ageing trees.

"Most farmers have old coffee trees they inherited from their parents and grandparents. We know that we can improve yield if we replace old trees, but some farmers are reluctant,” Anathalise Musengimana, a member of Dukunde Kawa Musasa cooperative in Gakenke District said.

The reluctance to replace ageing trees with new seedlings, Musengimana added, is based on the prolonged time it takes for new varieties to mature before starting to harvest.

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In a study conducted by the London School of Economics, 86 per cent of farmers in Rwanda said they would be willing to stump up to 30 per cent of their trees with support.

Jean Chrysostome Ngabitsinze (C), the Minister of Trade and Industry, said that the aging coffee trees are a challenge to coffee processing factories operating at low capacity.

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"We have learnt that 26 per cent of coffee trees are 30 years old while over 44 per cent are 20 years old,’ he said, adding that this continues to affect the country’s coffee export targets.

By 2022, Rwanda had 100 million coffee trees.

Statistics show that 40 per cent of coffee trees across the country are owned by farmers aged around 60.

Rejuvenating aging coffee trees could boost exports given that Rwanda’s production of export crops decreased by 4 per cent in 2023, primarily due to lower output in tea and coffee, according to the recent data from the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR).

According to Sandrine Urujeni, Chief Operations Officer at NAEB, the government had targeted to elevate coffee yield from 2.8 to 4 kilogrammes per tree in the first National Strategy for Transformation.

However, this target was missed – the current yield stands at 2.6 kilogrammes per tree – largely attributed to ageing trees.

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"We are promoting climate-resilient agriculture by encouraging farmers to integrate trees with other crops. Our strategy involves rejuvenating coffee trees in a manner that promotes resilience to climate change," she noted, during her appearance on Igihango show on Rwanda TV.

Over 30 million coffee trees are set to be replaced according to NAEB.

NAEB has launched a $62.89 million project to boost smallholder farmer&039;s coffee and tea exports from 14 districts. The project targets to rehabilitate plantation areas on 8,242 hectares of coffee, tea and horticulture.

For coffee, the support includes hangars for cherry collection, eco-friendly drying technologies and units, effluent and solid waste handling facilities at cooperative level, and coffee washing stations.

"We designed this project by looking at issues in export and giving preferential attention to subsistence farmers and vulnerable and market-oriented producers,” Eric Kabayiza, the single project implementation unit coordinator at NAEB said.

Increasing fertiliser use

NAEB also attributes low productivity to limited use of agricultural inputs, as well as the negative impact of Covid-19 that hindered the importation of fertilisers and led to price hikes.

At the same time, the government is still doing the heavy-lifting.

"Currently, only a small number of farmers understand the importance of purchasing fertilizer independently. What we supply is limited; we're utilising only 40 per cent of the required fertilizer for the crop. We are raising awareness to encourage ownership,” Urujeni said.

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The government is intensifying efforts aimed at addressing the farmgate price to improve returns for farmers, build resilience against climate shocks to minimize losses, and improve the quality of exported coffee.

Urujeni told this publication that NAEB is also facilitating more coffee buyers to access alternative markets for their exports.

"While previously focused primarily on Europe and America, we are now expanding our reach to include markets in China, UAE, and other regions," she said.