The humanitarian impacts of economic sanctions on Burundi

income. C<strong>of</strong>fee provides around 15 percent <strong>of</strong> such income. 15
Most c<strong>of</strong>fee is grown on peasant small holdings. Its cultivation
is encouraged as a practical way for subsistence farmers to earn
cash for capital expenditures and to pay for school fees and
materials. C<strong>of</strong>fee exports are required to pay for Burundi’s imports
and for civil service salaries. C<strong>of</strong>fee production has declined as
Burundi’s insecurity has increased, from 51,000 tons in 1994 to
25,600 in 1996. Before the coup, the former agriculture minister
estimated that 20 percent <strong>of</strong> c<strong>of</strong>fee growers had fled the country,
and that a further 20 percent were displaced. Many have switched
to other foodstuffs.
Agricultural inputs for cultivating c<strong>of</strong>fee, including insecticides,
have been prohibited by the embargo. Although prospects
for the 1997 harvest were not known early in the year, it seemed
likely that harvests once again would be reduced by a combination
<strong>of</strong> chronic insecurity and shortage <strong>of</strong> prohibited inputs.
Sanctions have had a dramatic effect on c<strong>of</strong>fee exports. <strong>The</strong>
embargo prohibits all exports from Burundi, including the 75-85
percent <strong>of</strong> export earnings derived from c<strong>of</strong>fee sales. FAO indicates
that c<strong>of</strong>fee exports fell from 29,000 tons in 1995 to less than
14,000 tons in 1996, resulting in a drastic decrease in the regime’s
foreign exchange earnings. 16 Most small producers, however, had
already sold their c<strong>of</strong>fee to export companies prior to the embargo.
With current stockpiles <strong>of</strong> c<strong>of</strong>fee nearly 50 percent <strong>of</strong> the expected
level <strong>of</strong> production, it remained to be seen how much <strong>of</strong> the
upcoming harvest exporters would purchase, and at what price.
<strong>The</strong> Burundi C<strong>of</strong>fee Bureau (OCIBU) and c<strong>of</strong>fee exporters may
also lack sufficient funds to purchase crops.
<strong>The</strong> impact <strong>of</strong> <strong>sanctions</strong> on c<strong>of</strong>fee was important politically as
well as <strong>economic</strong>ally. As one analyst observed in February 1997:
Because <strong>of</strong> the vital significance <strong>of</strong> c<strong>of</strong>fee export
earnings to the Burundian economy, the prevention
<strong>of</strong> c<strong>of</strong>fee exports is the key to the credibility
<strong>of</strong> regional <strong>sanctions</strong>. If they are successfully
enforced, Burundi will be very short <strong>of</strong> export
earnings, which will affect everyone in the coun-
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