Region: Muyinga
Commune: Gasorwe
Washing Station: Ngogomo
Variety: Red Bourbon

After its construction in 1992 in Muyinga province , Ngogomo still continues to operate at a high level. With more than 1,800 farmers, it is one of the main coffee washing stations in the Muyinga region. Ngogomo is located at 1689 meters above sea level, which makes its coffees develop very special notes.

The history of coffee production in the Ngogomo region dates back to a fisherman. The story goes that man caught a fish in a lake near where the station is today. This fish mysteriously disappeared. It is then, not being able to find a logical answer to this, that the fisherman decides to change his profession and dedicate himself to growing coffee.

This story of success and recovery of coffee plantations, motivated other people in the surroundings to grow coffee. Additionally, the quality of the cherries in the area, gained more followers.

The climate and the terroir of this area allow the coffee to present unique and structured flavors compared to other traditional regions. In fact, Ngogomo CWS reached 13th place in the Burundi Cup of Excellence with a washed batch that scored 87.78.

Coffee arrived in Burundi during the 1930s. At that time the Belgian government supervised and administered the twin territory of Ruanda-Urundi. During 1922 and 1962 the Belgian government made the cultivation of coffee compulsory. When the Belgian government withdrew, it was no longer mandatory and many coffee growers stopped caring for their coffee trees. However, others saw the economic benefits of continuing to grow coffee. Thus, the industry became the center of Burundi's national economy.

The coffee industry in Burundi was managed by the public sector until the beginning of the 21st century. It is then that the local government partially privatized activities of the coffee production chain. Some of these privatizations were washing stations and dry mills. As a result of this change coupled with the political instability of the territory, today, there is little foreign investment in the coffee sector in Burundi.

Currently, the coffee industry in Burundi is based on almost 2 million small coffee farmers. These produce more than 80% of the total export of coffee in the country. A large number if we take into account that the total population of Burundi amounts to less than 11 million people. These small coffee producers represent almost a fifth of the total population.

All the coffee plants in Burundi are Arabica. Although with the establishment of a large plantation an attempt was made to introduce Robusta. This plantation was destroyed during riots and the civil war at the end of the last century.

In Burundi almost all of its coffee trees are of the Bourbon variety. This is heavily controlled by the government for quality reasons. Due to the constant reduction in the size of coffee farms, aged coffee trees are a very serious problem in Burundi. Many farmers have coffee trees that are over 50 years old. Additionally, with small fields to cultivate, it is difficult to replant. This would mean that they are completely without production during the 3-4 years that the new plantations would require to start producing.

Despite the ubiquity of coffee cultivation in Burundi, low productivity prevails. The small farmer has about 300 trees on average, usually in his backyards. If it is taken into account that each tree produces 1.5 kilos of cherry, we have that the farmer sells an estimated 400-500 kilos per harvest. This means an annual salary of no more than USD 100 per farmer.

Burundi Ngogomo

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Burundi Ngogomo

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Burundi Ngogomo

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