Rwanda is positioning itself as a premium tea producer as the country develops a new strategy for the sector with support from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.
The strategy aims to improve tea quality, increase exports, and strengthen the livelihoods of thousands of smallholder farmers facing climate challenges, rising fertilizer costs, and growing regional competition.
Tea is Rwanda’s second-largest agricultural export after coffee, with more than one hundred thousand people involved in the value chain.
Tea production in Rwanda dates back to the 1950s and has since become one of the country’s key agricultural exports, generating millions of dollars annually and employing thousands of people across the value chain.
In the hills of Rwanda’s southern Nyaruguru district, tea farmer Bertride Nyiranzigiye says training and careful harvesting methods are helping farmers maintain the high standards that have made Rwandan tea internationally recognised.
–Channel Africa–
