September 26, 2023 – Until now, the 6 hectares surrounding Karenge washing station, operated by Rwacof (Sucafina’s sister company in Rwanda), have been used simply to grow coffee. Today, they’ve been transformed into a cutting-edge research center that will explore innovative ways to help farmers adapt to climate change while also increasing yields.
“All our washing stations already have small farmer support centers where we train farmers on good agricultural practices, provide farm inputs and teach financial literacy, among other agronomic support. As a next step, we wanted to come up with better approaches to addressing the impacts of climate change on coffee production and profitability in Rwanda,” says Maryann Wanja, R&D Officer at Rwacof. In particular, the new research center will evaluate pest and disease mitigation, improving soil fertility and addressing aging coffee trees. “We want to trial successful approaches and help farmers implement them,” Maryann explains.
Karenge Research Center opened in October 2022 and has already begun projects on fertilization, soil conservation, coffee pulp valorization (using coffee byproducts to create value and reduce carbon emissions), intercropping systems and more. “Our 5-year goal is to see increased coffee production in Rwanda,” Maryann says. Currently, farmers average about 1kg of cherry per tree per year. “That’s significantly lower than most of our neighboring countries” she explains. “If we could help increase yields, farmers can make more income without needing more land.”
They’ll also explore crop diversification options for agroforestry. By adding new plants to the land where coffee trees grow, the team are hopeful that they’ll be able to increase food security and farmer incomes while also benefiting coffee production. Since coffee thrives in a shade-grown environment and needs nitrogen to flourish, tall shade trees and nitrogen-fixing plants like legumes are a good place to start. “We want the research center to serve as an educational facility for farmers, agronomists, university students, and beyond,” Maryann says.
The most important aspect of the center is that it will focus on methods that are easily and affordably adoptable by smallholder farmers. “Most of the tactics currently available for climate change mitigation and increasing yields are exclusive, and smallholders with tiny plots and low incomes cannot access them,” Maryann says. “The idea is to have methods and strategies that are easily available to Rwandan farmers with small farms and low incomes. It’s about getting that 1kg of cherry up to 3 to 4kg per tree with the limited resources that the Rwandan farmer typically has.”
The research being conducted at Karenge Research Center will benefit coffee farmers across Rwanda and will translate into better quality coffee for buyers.