Divisi
When to plant Arabica coffee in Bondo
Bas-Uele, République démocratique du Congo
Known here as kahawa · café
Arabica is the cool-highland coffee — a small evergreen tree kept pruned to about your own height (1.5–2 m) so you can pick standing on the ground.
| Measure | Rain-fed | With irrigation |
|---|---|---|
| Fit | Favourable | |
| When to plant (establish) | 22 Feb 2027 – 3 May 2027 opens in 21 weeks | 21 Jan 2026 – 1 Jan 2027 |
| Expected harvest | about 1.3 t/ha | same |
| Bearing cycle | 210–270 days per crop once the plant is established. Planting to the first harvest takes longer than one cycle. | |
| Work it takes | 140–280 days per hectare, by hand | |
Rain-fed. These dates are worked out from each place's own rainfall, for a field watered by the season — with irrigation a window can open earlier, close later, or come round more than once a year. Check your own field under What grows, or get the Divisi app for a calendar dated to your farm.
If you only get one chance to plant, aim for around 3 Apr 2027. That is the point in the window where the rains are most reliably established.
No seasonal forecast reaches Bondo yet, so these dates follow the rains it usually gets rather than this year's.
Planting after 3 May 2027 leaves the crop short of season: it runs into the dry months before it has finished filling.
What decides this in Bondo
| Rain and temperature | 88% |
|---|---|
| The soil | 76% |
| The lie of the land | 76% |
For arabica coffee in Bondo, the soil is the tightest of the three at 76%. This is the one you can actually move. Lime raises a sour soil, manure and compost lift what it holds, and both work within a season or two — money spent here changes the answer.
The 2026 season in Bondo
| When the rains are expected | February 2026 to December 2026 |
|---|---|
| Rain in a typical year | About 1,375 mm |
| This season's rain | Leaning wet — October and November look heavier than usual. Make sure water can drain off the field; a wet year does more damage through waterlogging and disease than through the rain itself. |
| This season's heat | Hotter than usual — about +1.2 °C over the growing months. Heat makes the same rain do less, so a dry spell bites sooner: do not plant late, and shade or mulch what you can. |
| What that supports | enough rain for a long crop, or two in a year, warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season |
| Ground this covers | 2 kinds of ground. The season below is the largest that farms — about 83% of this area. |
| 83% | enough rain for a long crop, or two in a year; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 307 growing days · about 1,390 mm · February to December |
|---|---|
| 17% | enough rain for a long crop, or two in a year; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 297 growing days · about 1,360 mm · March to December |
last updated 30 September 2026
What arabica coffee needs to grow here
| Soil it likes | well-drained sandy loam, loam or clay loam soil |
|---|---|
| Soil sourness (pH) | Happiest between pH 5.0 and 6.0 |
| Spacing | 200 cm between rows, 200 cm between plants |
| Feed it most with | potassium, zinc and boron |
What it takes to grow arabica coffee in Bondo
| Planting material | About 2,000 plants per hectare |
|---|---|
| Nitrogen (N) | About 52 kg per hectare |
| Phosphate (P₂O₅) | About 6 kg per hectare |
| Potash (K₂O) | About 69 kg per hectare |
| In the shops | A basal compound at planting — Compound D, or an NPK blend — covers the phosphate and potash. A nitrogen top dressing — urea or AN — goes on once the crop is established. |
| Hand work | 140–280 days per hectare, by hand |
These are the nutrients a arabica coffee crop of that size carries off the field. What you actually apply depends on what your soil already holds — which is what a soil test, or the app's field records, tell you.
What to watch for
Grow Arabica coffee with a plan, not a guess
Everything above describes Bondo as a whole — your own soil, slope and rainfall will shift the dates. The Divisi app works them out for your field, and dates each job that follows.
Arabica coffee in nearby districts
This calendar moves
Planting windows shift with the forecast. Leave your email and we'll send what changed, and a note when planting time nears — a couple of emails a month at most.
Frequently asked questions
Will arabica coffee grow well in Bondo?
Bondo rates as favourable for arabica coffee.
When should I plant arabica coffee in Bondo?
Typically 22 Feb 2027 to 3 May 2027, typical season.
Is this exact for my own field?
No — these are readings taken across Bondo, not on your field. Soil, slope and rainfall change from one farm to the next. Check your own location to see your own numbers.
