EASTERN PROVINCE

NGOMA/KIREHE — After selling almost everything, loan servicing remains a big burden to coffee farmers in Ngoma and Kirehe districts.

Jeremia Karangwa and Jean De Dieu Butera secured a loan in 2002, from the Rwanda Development Bank [BRD] with the hope that they would invest in growing a newly introduced coffee (CATUAI) and reap profits, but they have come to regret.

The new type of coffee had reportedly been tried by ISAR and distributed by OCIR-CAFE, replacing Arabica coffee which was not doing well. Other farmers Laurent Nkusi and Alfred Nkubiri among others also invested heavily in the new plant.

After farmers were sensitized about the new plant (CATUAI), Karangwa and Butera took the lead and planted nursery beds then sent their project to Rural Sector Support Project (RSSP) seeking for a loan.

From RSSP, they say their project was later sent to ministry of agriculture in which RSSP operates and the project was approved.

The two men say the ministry of agriculture recommended them to Bank Populaire to get loans but due the delaying process, they later acquired Frw35 million from BRD, and injected it in their project.

Karangwa reportedly got Frw15 while his colleague secured Frw10million to be paid within a period of five years from 2002.

Butera claims he planted 10 hectares of coffee whereas Karangwa planted 15 hectares; and gave out seedlings to other small scale farmers.

They acknowledge that the yields were good in the first year of harvesting (2002) but later things changed different.

"We were happy and we really knew we had eradicated poverty from our families, the way OCIR-CAFÉ had promised us, that from each coffee tree we would harvest one kilogram of clean coffee.” Butera recalls.

He added: "The following season things turned the other way round. They all withered towards harvesting period.”

He says he thought that it was out of his negligence that it withered, but later he heard other farmers also complaining over the same issue.

They explained that they wrote a letter to OCIR-CAFÉ informing them of the plight of their coffee, seeking advice since they were the ones who brought the new type of coffee. They copied the same letter to the Ministry of Commerce, BRD and Agriculture Ministry.

In response, OCIR-CAFÉ advised them to uproot all the coffee trees and they (OCIR-CAFÉ) admitted supplying poor quality seeds; not suitable for the country’s climate and promised to give them fertilizers and new seeds, as compensation, which they never did.

"All our problems now, especially servicing the loan that we never gained from are blamed on OCIR-CAFÉ,” Butera charged.

They say, apart from BRD that heard their problem and extended the loan recovery period, all the others ignored them including OCIR-CAFÉ yet they had first accepted the responsibility.

Karangwa and Butera claim they have carried the blame, as other farmers blame them for promoting the plant. ‘They blame poverty on us.’

"We are now perceived as bad people when actually we are also struggling to pay bank loans,” Butera says. KIGUWABUKU cooperative society had also planted 6,000 coffee trees during the same year.

Albert Nsabyumukiza of Sakara reportedly planted 12,000 coffee trees which also withered. They are now bitter and threatening to sue the plant distributor allegedly for misleading them.

"We want to call all those who planted this type of coffee and reach an understanding of dragging OCIR-CAFÉ to courts of Law,” says Butera.

"The loan repayment period given to us is over and we don’t have money to pay. The Bank is threatening to take the little we are remaining with after selling many of our properties to clear the loan,” he claims.

"Instead of working to support our families, we work to service a loan that we injected in a ‘fake’ project because of OCIR-CAFÉ, they even never returned as they had promised, to give us other coffee seeds,” Karangwa complains. The duo claims they pay between Frw280, 000 and Frw380, 000 to BRD to service the loan monthly.

"This is a lot of money which we could use to support our families and help us in other developmental activities,” Karangwa says.

He adds, "We are poor because of OCIR-CAFÉ, we shall sue them especially that they acknowledged bringing poor quality seeds.” As if the year had got mad, sources say all farmers who planted this type of coffee across the country lost.

Ends