· Rwanda has identified Strawberries as a high-value fruit with excellent market and investment potential.
· This was revealed by a study commissioned to assess the potential for commercial farming of strawberries as an innovative and high-value crop.
Rwanda has identified Strawberries as a high-value fruit with the excellent market and investment potential. This was revealed by a study commissioned to assess the potential for commercial farming of strawberries as an innovative and high-value crop. The study was commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI) in partnership with HortInvest project funded by the Embassy of the Netherlands in Rwanda.
The study indicates that strawberry farming can not only substitute Rwanda’s imports of the product but also contribute to improved nutrition by virtue of its high content in vitamins and antioxidants. It has estimated Rwanda’s capacity to produce strawberries at 500 tonnes per year. This can cater to local demands which currently stand at over 60 tonnes per year with potential to export to the regional market. Apart from that, strawberries can be processed to produce various products such as wine, jam, yoghurt and juice, the study indicated. The local agro-processing firms engaged in making yoghurt or other products that require strawberry flavours, have been resorting to importing them due to non-availability of the product locally.
