North Kivu and South Kivu share many of the same agro-climatic traits as other coffee production areas in the Great Lakes Region of Africa. South Kivu, especially, has the potential to produce high-quality specialty coffee for international markets.

This project is focused on providing technical guidance to introduce and field test high-performing coffee varieties and lead the development of successful models of small-scale, high-quality coffee production, processing, and marketing relevant to the South Kivu context. It aims to inform project implementation as well as advocacy to support the scaling and dissemination of a viable model.

In order to achieve this, there must be a focused effort to improve quality control, agronomic techniques, quality of germplasm, and market linkages. We hope these interventions will lead to a dynamic and prosperous coffee sector in South Kivu.

Partners

The Howard G. Buffett Foundation (HGBF) is interested in promoting livelihood development and decreasing conflict in the Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This project, based in Bukavu, is led by Catholic Relief Services (CRS) through a cooperative agreement with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and a grant from HGBF. Eastern Congo Initiative (ECI) is also a project partner.

In addition, World Coffee Research (WCR) is providing in-kind salary support to industry quality training specialists, as well as marketing conduits which have been established with over 50 coffee roasting companies. World Coffee Research will provide technical guidance to CRS in concert with the National Coffee Organization (ONC). WCR is uniquely positioned to widely disseminate a successful model and research across governments and companies.

It is expected that these ConDev partners will work collaboratively with other local partners to achieve project success.