In terms of altitude, soil, and climate, Burundi is ideal for growing coffee; but having been forced to grow coffee during Belgian colonization there was little enthusiasm for coffee farming after independence in 1962, and no incentive for quality. Fifteen years ago, when prices began to rise and become relatively stable, green Burundi coffee farmers in the northern highlands did not forget that Rwanda received better prices for their coffee and they started to emulate some of what was happening in Rwanda. They formed cooperatives and sought ways to improve quality.
