“The good relationship between China and Rwanda has enabled farmers like me to realise our dreams. The Chinese market is quite unique when compared to the rest because they accept a wide range of goods without big complications,” Twahirwa tells The Africa Report.
The relationship was sealed by President Xi Jinping’s visit to Rwanda in 2018. In September last year, Twahirwa signed a life-changing agreement worth $100m with China’s Chinese GK International Enterprises to supply 50,000tn of chilli annually for five years. This deal enabled him to expand from about 6ha to 160ha, to employ more people and invest in better fertilisers and seeds.
“We are now waiting for both governments to sign a protocol that will enable us to export dry chilli to China. Once this promise is secured it will improve our business tremendously,” he says.
For all the coffee in China
Similarly, coffee farmers in
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