Rwanda: brewing a new tea sector strategy for better livelihoods

Indexed: 2026-05-21

[00:00:19]Rwanda is a [music] landlocked hilly country, which makes it difficult for farmers to produce tea.

[00:00:25]However, the country is developing a tea strategy with the technical assistance of FAO to strengthen its position in global markets.

[00:00:34]It focuses [music] on setting high standards across the value chain, from the farm to the factory.

[00:00:40]It also aims to increase production.

[00:00:43]So, farmers get better [music] returns for their high-quality tea.

[00:00:46]What it makes it unique is starting from the farm, the good agricultural [music] practices that our farmers are being trained on on regular basis, [music] but also it's handpicked to selectively pick it, make sure that farmers [music] select good leaves, and also going to the factories, uh making sure that we are processing it well.

[00:01:14]Rwanda's [music] hilly geography and tropical climate play a central role in the high quality of its tea.

[00:01:21]The entire [music] value chain supports the livelihoods of more than 100,000 people.

[00:01:27]Tea is Rwanda's second largest [music] agricultural export product and foreign currency earner.

[00:01:34]>> [music] >> Rwanda is a country of thousand hills, which it has a good altitude, and the good [music] altitude is a a good area to grow tea. The soil where we plant tea is normally dusty soil, [music] which is good soil. That's why the Rwandan tea always is still [music] the best quality.

[00:01:56]The reason why heavily focuses [music] on quality, number one, the country is landlocked.

[00:02:02]Number two, there is high level of population pressure on the land.

[00:02:07]>> [music] >> So, um one of the best approach for Rwanda, which I think [music] the government is very much aware, and which FAO is also working with, is to increase the quality. [music] So, that you can produce the more from the less. But, at the same time you increase the the quality. And that's the the best niche for the country.

[00:02:48]>> [music]