Burundi Coffee Sector Competitiveness Project

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The development objective of the Coffee Sector Competitiveness Project for Burundi is to increase coffee productivity and improve its quality among small-scale coffee growers in Burundi. The project contributes to Burundi’s FY13-FY16 Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) that aims to support the country’s development as an increasingly stable, competitive and diversified economy with enhanced opportunities for productive employment and improved standards of living. The project is comprised of four components. Component 1, institutional strengthening and value chain governance component, will streamline the sector’s governance structure by: (i) reviewing and adapting the current institutional framework to improve its effectiveness and efficiency; (ii) improving the dialogue among the main public and private actors so that they resolve value chain bottlenecks; (iii) strengthening the capacity of the key organizations overseeing the sector so that they can provide the needed services to their members and promote an enabling business environment; (iv) enhancing the position of women and youth in the coffee sector value chain; and (v) establishing an information/management system for the sector. The objective of component 2, coffee growers’ productive capacity enhancement component, is to enhance, on an economic and sustainable basis, the productive capacity of small coffee growers so as to increase coffee production, reduce the cyclical swings of production and improve cherry quality. The services of the territorial administration will also be enlisted for the general sensitization and outreach campaigns. Component 3, coffee quality improvement and market access component, will finance technical assistance, training, infrastructure and goods to promote quality enhancement along the entire value chain (field, washing station, dry mill, quality control laboratories, storage, etc.). It will also promote the Burundi coffee brand for increased market access. Component 4, coordination, monitoring and knowledge management component, will support: (i) the project administrative, technical, and financial management; (ii) coordination among all institutional partners to ensure an efficient flow of information and support to all value chain actors, in particular the small coffee growers; (iii) effective contractual arrangements with key official implementing partners and private sector operators; (iv) monitoring and evaluation of the performance and the project financial, environmental, and social impact management; and (v) development of communication activities to publicize and disseminate the project results, best practices and success stories.