Burundi Agribusiness Program (BAP)

posted on September 29, 2011 8:56pm

The Burundi Agribusiness Program (BAP) is a five-year value chain development initiative funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Michigan State University is a major partner in the BAP consortium of institutions led by Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI). The Institute of International Agriculture (IIA) is known for its strengths in coffee and horticulture value chain development and will be providing leadership to the team in these areas.

Coffee: Assisted by industry partners Alliance for Coffee Excellence (ACE) and Sustainable Harvest, the focus of MSU’s efforts in the coffee subsector will be on:

Facilitating the privatization of coffee washing stations and dry mills.
Providing assistance to producer cooperatives and small enterprises to improve coffee quality through improved practices in production and processing.
Specialty coffee market development targeting the U.S., Europe and Japan.

After more than a decade of civil disruption and political instability Burundi is poised to make the kinds of changes necessary to restore luster to its coffee subsector and develop the capacity to participate in rapidly changing global coffee markets. Growing in importance are specialty coffee markets that depart from the traditional commodity-oriented coffee markets in that they are defined primarily in terms of their high product quality and other differentiating characteristics. This development is particularly encouraging for Burundi, whose agroecology and well-developed coffee infrastructure support the production of highly prized “mild arabicas,” and where political will is being mobilized in the subsector to realize this remarkable potential.

In horticulture, BAP will target fruits, vegetables and cut flowers for export to international and regional markets, working on producer organization, improved production practices, post-harvest handling and market access. Burundi is well positioned for horticulture development thanks to its broad agro-ecological diversity, abundant rainfall, and strong tradition of producer organization.

Horticulture: Fruit and vegetable producers and exporters share a guarded optimism that Burundi’s export, regional, and domestic markets for horticulture products can be rebuilt and strengthened. They see the potential for Burundi to become highly competitive in these increasingly lucrative markets, ultimately challenging regional competitors such as Uganda and Kenya. BAP is poised to build on this foundation and deliver pragmatic, field-focused activities that will help create incomes, increase employment, and help stabilize the country and ensure that it will not once again descend into chaos and bloodshed.

MSU provides a unique contribution because of the experience gained from neighboring Rwanda as leader of the Partnership to Enhance Agriculture in Rwanda through Linkages (PEARL). The primary goal of PEARL was to rebuild and revitalize the capacity of Rwandan agricultural institutions during the post-conflict period. In just five years, PEARL’s focus on value chain development launched a specialty coffee revolution which has improved the lives and livelihoods of countless Rwandans.

BAP serves as a cornerstone to MSU’s Quality Fund initiative in Global Agrifood Systems Development (GASD).

For more information please contact:

Daniel C. Clay, Professor and Director
Institute of International Agriculture
Michigan State University
319 Agriculture Hall
East Lansing, MI 48824
tel: 517-353-1309 (direct)
517-355-0174 (reception)
fax: 517-353-1888
e-mail: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)