Rice is grown on the Rusizi Plain, which is a long stretch of land surrounded by hills south of Bukavu on the way to Uvira. The thousands of small rice farmers living on the plain sell their produce through one of several co-operatives, the largest of which is L’Association Pour le Developpement des Paysans Agriculteurs (ADPA).
The cooperative is based in Luvungi and for some time it has supplied the Bralima Brewery in Bukavu with rice for brewing. The demand is year round and much higher than ADPA’s capacity to supply. So earlier this year they approached Luminosity for funding to enable them to supply more rice and build a long term relationship with the brewery.
It’s far better if Bralima can source locally and support a wider community of growers. And given ADPA had received an order for an increased supply we quickly agreed to provide the finance. ADPA were immediately able to respond to Bralima’s needs and they have recently been rewarded with a contract to supply 600 tonnes over the next twelve months.
This is an amazing outcome for ADPA and confirmation that their management team have won the confidence of Bralima. It will provide a ready market for nearly two thousand rice farmers and we hope to continue the relationship with what is a very well run cooperative.