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By Annonciata Byukusenge
Coffee farmers say they have changed their mindset regarding coffee farming; previously, they believed they could not replace the coffee trees they had tended for over 70 years with modern varieties, largely because they viewed the existing trees as a legacy inherited from their parents.
Coffee growers say they’ve reconsidered their approach to the crop after realizing that trees planted more than 70 years ago couldn’t simply be replaced out of sentiment; they needed to be replaced to keep up with the times. For years, many farmers held on to their old coffee trees mainly because they saw them as a legacy from their parents, not only a crop.
Farmers taking part in a program to renovate and replant old coffee trees say they expect to see results soon, since the new variety being distributed, known as RAB C15, starts producing fruit in just three years.
Viviane Nyirababiligi is one of the farmers replacing her old trees with the new variety. She lives in Shanga cell, Maraba sector, Huye District.
“We are replacing our coffee trees that are more than 70 years old. My mother, who’s 100 years old, married into this family and found my father’s father already growing these same trees; they had been hereditary from his parents too. I’m 52, and I was born into a home where these trees already existed. They had stopped producing well, which is why we are getting rid of them, even though it took us a while to accept the idea when we were first told.”
She added that around 1,000 trees are being replaced on her land alone, to be replaced with seedlings of the new, faster-maturing coffee variety.
“We were told the new variety, RAB C15, matures in just three years, compared to the five years it normally takes our usual coffee trees to bear fruit. Some farmers who received it earlier are already seeing their trees flower before even reaching two years. It grows fast and gives a good harvest.”
Jonas Ndahayo, another coffee farmer, took a different route, refreshing his trees rather than replacing them, a technique commonly known as ‘gusazura.’
“I renewed coffee trees that were 20 years old. With this method, you don’t remove the tree entirely; you cut back the old growth and let young trees regrow from the base until they are productive again. Before I did this, my trees were only yielding about a kilogram each, while a coffee tree under seven years old can produce up to three kilograms. I’m expecting a much better harvest now.”
According to Rwanda’s National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB), the country has roughly 26 million aged coffee trees that need to be replaced to safeguard the quality of Rwandan coffee on the international market.
NAEB’s Managing Director, Claude Bizimana, said Rwanda has deliberately chosen to prioritize quality over quantity, rather than exporting large volumes of coffee that may struggle to sell due to poor quality.
“It’s the quality of Rwandan coffee that sets it apart internationally. We chose quality over quantity. Through the PSAC project, we are distributing a new coffee variety to farmers that matures quickly and yields well. Our target is that by 2029, we’ll have replaced or renewed around 9 million coffee trees.”
Over the past six years, from the 2020/2021 to 2025/2026 seasons, coffee exports have earned Rwanda roughly US$447.8 million. By the end of the second National Strategy for Transformation (NST2) period, running through 2028/2029, the government aims to raise annual coffee export earnings to US$115.5 million.
