Coffee production in Democratic Republic of the Congo

Coffee production in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is centered in the Lake Kivu provinces. There are about 11,000 coffee farmers in the country who produce two main varieties of coffee, "Robusta" and "Arabica".
Farmers and co-ops.
There were more than 11,000 coffee farmers in the DRC in 2013. Co-operative associations, such as Furaha, Muungano, and Sopacdi are valuable partners to the coffee farmers in sales and distribution.
Species.
Many varieties of coffee are grown in the DRC but the two major species are "Robusta", which is grown mainly in the northeast of the country such as in Isiro, and in the low lands of Ubangi, Uele, Kivu, Kasai, and Bas-Congo; and the lighter "Arabica" varieties which is grown at higher elevations in Kivu and Ituri. 'Arabica' accounts for one fifth of the total production of coffee.
Production.
By 1989, coffee exports were at a high of }, but they declined sharply in the 1994–2003 period, possibly due to the civil wars of 1997 and 1998. Coffee wilt disease also affected growth in some areas. After the peace agreement was signed in December 2002, following the end of the civil war, production of coffee rose to in 2003 from a figure of in 2002. In 2006, coffee production, in terms of bags, was 100,000 bags of "Arabica" and 470,000 bags of "Robusta". Total exports were 400,000 bags of , but by 2010 coffee production was still less than 10% of what it had been 20 years earlier in 1989 ().
In 2012, the government launched a programme for the recovery of the coffee sector titled "Strategy Document for the Recovery of the Coffee Sector 2011–2015" and made a budgetary provision US $100 million for the purpose. It was estimated that the recovery plan would result in an increase in production to by 2015. The regions where recovery of coffee growth has been planned are eight districts of South Kivu province, the Robusta variety of coffee in the Orientale province, and about of "Arabica" coffee in Bandundu province.