Archive · 15 Sep 2025
DRC Coffee Farmers Face Devastating Losses Due to Conflict
Farmers in the Democratic Republic of Congo are having a tough time.
Fighting between the government and rebels is making it hard for them to grow and sell coffee.
They can't get to their farms, and their crops are rotting.
This is hurting their income and making it difficult for them to support their families.
The coffee industry, which had been improving, is now in danger of losing all that progress.
Conflict in eastern DRC is preventing coffee farmers from working their land.
Fighting has led to rotting crops and blocked export routes.
Rebels have seized areas in the key coffee-growing regions of North and South Kivu.
Coffee production, which recovered in recent years, is now threatened.
Farmers are experiencing significant income loss and struggling to pay for basic needs.
- Who
- DRC coffee farmers, M23 rebels
- What
- Impact of conflict on coffee production
- When
- Recent months
- Where
- Eastern DRC (North and South Kivu)
- Why
- Conflict preventing farmers from working, and blocking exports.
- Affected Region
- Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
- Main Issue
- Escalating conflict impacting coffee production
- Coffee Production Peak
- Over 100,000 metric tons (late 1980s)
- 2023 Output
- Just over 62,000 tons
- Primary Impact
- Farmers unable to tend to crops