Candy Cane

Located at the border with Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi, the Kivu area is home to coffees with stunning cup profiles. While the area is subject to ongoing conflicts, cooperation between coffee farmers, Farm Africa, and the Virunga National Park is encouraging peace through the growing of specialty coffee.

The borders of the Virunga National Park, including the slopes of the Rwenzori Mountains and the uplands to the north-west of Lake Edward, contain some of the finest Arabica coffee-growing land in the world. The climate is temperate, with plentiful rainfall and sunshine, volcanic soils, and altitudes rising to over 2,000 metres. Smallholder farmers here have long grown heirloom bourbon varieties, but until very recently, post-harvest processing was very basic, and the only buyers were informal traders, mainly coming from neighbouring Uganda.

Through the Virunga National Park coffee programme, farmers are starting to realise the full potential of their coffees. The farmers are organised around small-scale coffee washing stations. They are affiliated with two vibrant young cooperatives, Kawa Kanzururu on the western flanks of the Rwenzori mountains and Coopade on the highlands to the north-west of Lake Edward. Virunga National Park is running a major agriculture programme aimed at boosting the livelihoods of smallholder farmers who live around the park by investing in the production and marketing of their crops, including coffee. In this way, the pressure on farmers to encroach on the park will be reduced, and farmers will experience positive benefits from the park’s presence.

The programme is designed to boost the livelihoods of more than 7,000 coffee farming families living on the border of Virunga National Park. The project approach is based on implementing a holistic and sustainable farming model, including crop diversification and establishing a balance between food security and cash generation. The programme includes training on good agricultural practises and the establishment of nurseries for coffee as well as other trees.

Significant investments are being made to increase the quantity and quality of fully washed Arabica. Washing station infrastructure is being upgraded, accompanied by rigorous training in coffee processing. In 2020, cupping labs were installed and cuppers trained. Internal control systems are being strengthened to ensure complete traceability and that the requirements for certifications are met.