Anglican Church turns to coffee farming to fight poverty in Muhanga

By The Inspirer.

The Anglican Church’s Shyogwe Diocese has launched a coffee-growing initiative in Muhanga District, allocating land to Christians and other residents to help them earn income and improve their livelihoods.

The initiative forms part of a broader plan to cultivate coffee on 2,000 hectares, with four hectares initially allocated to beneficiaries, according to Bishop Louis Pasteur Kabayiza, the diocese’s spokesperson.

“Preaching the word of God alone is not enough. It must be accompanied by practical actions that improve the lives of all community members, not just followers of the Anglican Church,” Kabayiza told UMUSEKE.

He said the diocese had identified coffee as a sustainable source of income and would work with the National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB) to obtain improved seedlings.

For residents who lack farmland, access to land could open a path into a crop that generates export earnings for Rwanda.

Jeannine Nyirasinamenye, a resident of Mapfundo Village in Mubuga Cell, Shyogwe Sector, welcomed the initiative, saying few local residents own land suitable for coffee cultivation.

“Without the church giving us land, very few residents have plots of their own on which to grow coffee,” she said.

Andar Parlindungan, Secretary General of the Anglican Church and the Evangelical Protestant Church (EPR) at the global level, urged Christians to complement worship with practical efforts to improve community welfare.

“We are called to work and help those in need so that everyone can enjoy a better life,” he said.

Eric Bizimana, Muhanga District’s Deputy Mayor in charge of Economic Development, welcomed the project, noting that it would add to the district’s existing 830 hectares of coffee plantations.

He said the initiative could encourage more residents to grow coffee and challenge the perception that the crop is mainly cultivated by older people.

The diocese also plans to establish coffee-processing plants to support the development of the sector.

Residents hope the project will create a lasting source of income as the coffee trees mature and begin producing.