JANUARY 2012 This publication was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development. It was prepared with help from the Communications Division of the International Food Policy Research Institute. POVERTY REDUCTION AMONG RWANDAN SMALLHOLDER COFFEE PRODUCERS A SYNTHESIS OF FINDINGS Based on studies written by Alexandre Lyambabaje, Etienne Bihogo, Charles B. Moss, Jean Claude Kayisinga, Dave D. Weatherspoon, and James F. Oehmke T his brief synthesizes two studies that assess the impact of USAID- supported coffee interventions in Rwanda (Bihogo et al. 2011; Moss et al. 2011). The interventions were undertaken to support the Government of Rwanda’s policy to transform all Rwandan coffee into high-quality, high-value products in an effort to increase the incomes of and reduce poverty among smallholders. The projects emphasized a value-chain approach to pro- mote the development of premium coffee markets. USAID/Rwanda supported this development through the Partnership for Enhancing Agriculture in Rwanda through Linkages (PEARL I, 2000–03, and PEARL II, 2003–05) and Sustaining Partnerships to Enhance Rural Enterprise and Agribusiness Development (SPREAD, 2006–11). The studies’ objectives were • to determine if the USAID-supported interventions in the coffee value chain have increased incomes and reduced poverty among smallholder coffee growers, and • to ascertain whether it is possible to identify a “tipping point” in the coffee value chain beyond which sustainable improvements are led by the private sector and donors can begin to exit from the sector, and if so, to ascertain whether the Rwandan coffee sector has reached this tipping point. POLICY BRIEF usaid_pb_rwanda.indd 1 1/24/2012 3:01:21 PM