Burundi Coffee
Burundi (06/05)
The main cash crop is coffee, which accounted for some 50% of exports in 2003. This dependence on coffee has increased Burundi's vulnerability to fluctuations in seasonal yields and international coffee prices. Coffee processing is the largest state-owned enterprise in terms of income. Although the government has tried to attract private investment to this sector, plans for the privatization of this sector have stalled. Efforts to privatize other publicly held enterprises have likewise stalled. Other principal exports include tea, sugar, and raw cotton. Coffee production, after a severe drop in 2003, returned to normal levels in 2004. Revenues from coffee production and exports are likewise estimated to return to pre-2003 levels. ... [Read More]
US Department Of State Post Report
Burundi’s economy is predominantly agricultural. Its most important export is high quality arabica coffee, which provides 80% of export earnings. Tea, cotton, and rice production are also being encouraged to reduce dependence on coffee. Lake Tanganyika supports a small fishing industry, though it is in decline. ... The post has a limited supply of stepdown transformers. Nevertheless, bring 220v or dual (110/220v) equipment. This applies to household and kitchen appliances or any high-wattage item. Useful electrical appliances include a mixer, toaster, coffee maker and grinder, blender, and clothes iron. FoodLast Updated: 12/3/2003 1:59 PM ... [Read More]
Department of State Washington File: USAID Funding Volunteer Program to Address World's Coffee Crisis
The Coffee Corps volunteers will develop projects to address the business needs of small coffee farmers. Potential projects may range from consulting on post-harvest processing improvements to environmental issues. The volunteers will be experts in the coffee industry who are willing to share their time and talent with coffee farmers and coffee communities. USAID will provide initial funding for the program, while CQI will pay for volunteers' travel and basic living costs during their assignments, which will typically run for about two weeks. ... [Read More]
V. Country Narratives -- Countries A through G
Guinea is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor. Guinean girls are trafficked internally for forced labor as domestic servants and boys for shoe shining and street vending. Some children are also trafficked for forced labor in agriculture and diamond mining camps. Women and girls are trafficked to Cote d’Ivoire, Benin, Senegal, Nigeria, South Africa, Spain, and Greece for sexual exploitation. On a smaller scale, men are trafficked for forced labor in agriculture. Guinea is a destination country for forced child labor from Mali, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, and Senegal. The Government of Guinea does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Guinea is placed on Tier 2 Watch List for its fail ... [Read More]
2003
1111--08/06/03 Remarks With President Bush; Secretary Colin L. Powell; The Coffee Station; Crawford, Texas ... [Read More]
Press Releases
1111--08/06/03 Remarks With President Bush; Secretary Colin L. Powell; The Coffee Station; Crawford, Texas ... [Read More]
Rwanda (01/05)
The Rwandan economy is based on the largely rainfed agricultural production of small, semisubsistence, and increasingly fragmented farms. It has few natural resources to exploit and a small, uncompetitive industrial sector. While the production of coffee and tea is well-suited to the small farms, steep slopes, and cool climates of Rwanda, farm size continues to decrease, especially in view of government ownership of all land and the resettlement of displaced persons. Agribusiness accounts for 50% of Rwanda’s GDP and 70% of exports. Tea accounts for 60% of export earnings, followed by coffee and pyrethrum (whose extract is used in insect repellant). Mountain gorillas serve as a potentially important source of tourism revenue, but Rwanda’s tourism and hospitality sector requires further development. Rwanda is one of 20 member states of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and hoped to form a free trade area with Burundi in January 2004. Some 34% of Rwanda’s imports ... [Read More]
Photos by Regions and Topics
111111--09/15/04 Assistant Secretary Wayne Announces U.S. Intent to Rejoin International Coffee Organization ... 111111--09/15/04 U.S. Intent to Rejoin International Coffee Organization ... [Read More]
US Department Of State Post Report
Butare is also the home of the National University of Rwanda. The University operates primarily with Canadian, Belgian, and French technical assistance. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) provides assistance to the Law School. The Institut de Recherche Scientifique et Agricole du Rwanda (ISAR) maintains an agricultural experiment station at Rubona, above Butare. Additionally, the Institut National de Recherche Scientifique (INRS) maintains an anthropological museum and arboretum at Butare and conducts studies of regional fauna and flora. The Ministry of Natural Resources maintains a small but interesting geological museum in Kigali.According to the Off ... [Read More]
Congo (Kinshasa) (06/05)
Agriculture is the mainstay of the Congolese economy, accounting for 56.3% of GDP in 2002. The main cash crops include coffee, palm oil, rubber, cotton, sugar, tea, and cocoa. Food crops include cassava, plantains, maize, groundnuts, and rice. Industry, especially the mining sector, is underdeveloped relative to its potential in the D.R.C. In 2002, industry accounted for only 18.8% of GDP, with only 3.9% attributed to manufacturing. Services reached 24.9% of GDP. The Congo was the world's fourth-largest producer of industrial diamonds during the 1980s, and diamonds continue to dominate exports, accounting for over half of exports ($642 million) in 2003. The Congo's main copper and cobalt interests are dominated by Gecamines, the state-owned mining giant. Gecamines production has been severely affected by corruption, civil unrest, world market trends, and failure to reinvest. ... [Read More]
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