Sustainability in Rwanda with Philotee & Wanja

To learn more about RWACOF and Kahawatu Foundation’s efforts sustainability, we turn to Philotee Mukiza, Project Manager, and Maryann Wanja, R&D Officer and Agriculture Scientist. Now we’ll hear from Philotee and Wanja, two influential and insightful women who have made tangible contributions towards more inclusive and equitable coffee production.

What is your background? How did you come to join Sucafina?

Philotee Mukiza: I joined Sucafina in Rwanda in April 2013 straight out of college where I attained a Bachelor’s of agricultural sciences and a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. I’ve held several other jobs within RWACOF, but since 2021, I have run the Kahawatu Foundation’s projects in Rwanda in tandem with other sustainability projects with the RWACOF team.

Maryann Wanja: I began working with RWACOF in May 2022 after several years working as a researcher in insect farming. I was exploring different ways to build a circular economy by using insects to add value to agrifood waste like coffee cherry pulp. Since then, I have fallen deeply in love with coffee and that’s what led me to join RWACOF.

What do you think are RWACOF and Kahawatu’s Strengths?

Wanja: As part of the agronomic and research team, I think one of our biggest strengths is the ability to be consistently present in the field. This allows us to strengthen trust between RWACOF, coffee growers and the local community.

Philotee: That is a big part of the Kahawatu Foundation’s import as well. Being directly connected with farmers and local communities is essential to establishing potential solutions. By understanding community needs and economic and social gaps, we are able to build trust and confidence that helps farmers to create possible solutions to some of their daily challenges.

Further, I think the strength and passion of our own teams is a significant strength as well. Our sustainability teams really care about the people in our supply chain. They understand the unique experiences of our farming partners and are working to build innovative solutions.

What are you working on now?

Wanja: RWACOF and Kahawatu are working collaboratively to implement initiatives that address our 3 key pillars by increasing living income (caring for people), improving coffee yields, encouraging farmer income diversification and increasing gender equality (investing in farmers), and promoting climate change adaptation and mitigation (protecting the planet).

Of all the things we’ve done, here are a few we’d like to highlight.

To help farmers access new markets and improve sustainability on their farms, we’re rolling out our IMPACT verification. Right now, we have 5 washing stations – about 5,700 farmers - that are IMPACT verified. Moving forward, we plan to scale up IMPACT verification roll out by driving demand for IMPACT coffees through our sales team.

We’re also taking deforestation monitoring very seriously. We use CropIn to register each grower and GPS data of the size and shape of their plots in a way that's data protected.  Because each registered grower that we source from has a unique farmer ID that serves as a traceability marker, we are able to trace coffee from farm to export. Over 70% of our supply chain – about 65,000 plots – are currently GPS mapped. Using satellite data from Trade in Space,  we overlay that data with satellite images of tree cover to track any deforestation events in the supply chain.

Philotee: Our community-led loan programs, called Villages Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs), helps farmers access cash loans easily, something which almost impossible for smallholders to access from banks. We’ve worked with about 6,800 farmers who are brought together across over 250 groups. Each week, farmers invest a portion of their income in the group and, when they need a loan, they are able to borrow against the group’s savings to pay for health care, schools fees and starting a business, to name a few. In addition, the VSLA approach is a good platform for community social connections and project implementation.

We are also working to create additional sources of income for farming households by forging connections between farmers, especially women and youth, to help them jump into market opportunities in their regions. Most of these businesses are around agribusinesses such as livestock farming, beekeeping and diversified food crops.

What are your program goals for the next 1 to 5 years?

Philotee: Our VSLA farmer members are more active and responsive that any other group of farmers, so we want to create more opportunities for farmers to build and join VSLAs and also to empower those groups to have a bigger impact. We truly believe in VSLAs as a credible way for farmers to build financial capacity for themselves and their communities.

Wanja: RWACOF wants to increase our production of organic fertilizer from cherry pulp. This will both add value to a typically discarded product and add value for farmers who are using it to increase yields. The goal is to halve our carbon emissions by 2027 and achieve a net positive supply chain by 2030. Since cherry pulp plays such an outsized role in emissions at the washing station, this is an important step. We’re also aiming to be fully farm GPS mapped by mid-2024 so that we can monitor deforestation across our entire supply chain.

We’ll focus on scaling our IMPACT program roll out by ensuring roasters have access to IMPACT-verified coffee. We’ll work on continuous supply chain improvements through the data we’re collecting on our supply chain health. We'll also use that data to collaborate with roasters in addressing and improving supply chains with an opportunity for roasters to directly engage with farmers.

What else should roasters know about RWACOF, Kahawatu and Rwandan coffee production?

Philotee: That supporting sustainability initiatives is an investment in the future of coffee. One project we’re working on across RWACOF’s stations is rejuvenating old trees. About 35% of Rwanda coffee trees are above 30 years old and these trees have never been rejuvenated. This is lowering yields and affecting farmer profitability. So, we should ask ourselves: if we don’t do anything now to improve yields and rootstock age, what will happen to the Rwandan coffee sector in 10-20 years? We need to start making changes now. 

Wanja: Our current Farmgate initiative, Coffee Tree Rejuvenation (Rwanda Revive Project) in Rwanda, provides a platform for clients to directly address this challenge. Last year, roasters contributed over USD$30,000 through Farmgate Initiative and the money went to support farmers are they stumped over 118,000 unproductive trees. Farmers received stipends to offset labor costs to stump trees. This year, we aim to triple the efforts and impact made possible through contributions from roasters.

Philotee and Wanja play an integral role in enhancing sustainability in RWACOF’s supply chain. Their work, and the efforts of the entire RWACOF and the Kahawatu Foundation teams, is helping farmers increase their livelihoods, improving yields, helping women and young people generate their own income and more. RWACOF welcomes support from roasters buying from their supply chain. Roasters of all sizes can get involved in sustainability projects, including through our Farmgate Initiative Coffee Tree Rejuvenation project and beyond. Get in touch with your trader today to discuss how your purchases can make a positive impact on the coffee supply chain.