- About 45 farmers in Rusitu Valley in Chipinge, a district in Zimbabwe have secured export orders for pineapples to the Netherlands.
- The first order of 50 tonnes starting from December 2021 is expected to improve the lives of the small farmers of Zimbabwe.
About 45 farmers in Rusitu Valley in Chipinge, a district in Zimbabwe have secured export orders for pineapples to Netherlands. The first order of 50 tonnes starting from December 2021 is expected to improve the lives of the small farmers of Zimbabwe.
Chipinge farmers formed a Trust, Rusitu Fruit Growers and Marketing Trust to market their crops. It has over 1 300 farmers as members. Mostly the Pineapples grown in the area are fertiliser and pesticide-free. These pineapples got organic certification last year from Ecocert Organic Standard, a French quality control body. The certification has enabled the farmers to export their organic products to international markets. The organic certification is a critical turning point for the farmers in accessing the lucrative organic fruit market particularly in the United States of America, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Germany and also other markets such as the United Arab Emirates.
Armed with organic standards, the smallholder pineapple farmers can access the growing global pineapple market, which has risen from US$2,3 billion in 2011 to US$2,5 billion in 2020.
Most farmers in the region have been growing pineapples but not on a commercial scale due to its short shelf life, lack of access to markets, and low returns. Confronted with market access challenges, Rusitu Fruit Growers and Marketing Trust sought the help of the country’s export promotion body, Zimtrade. It lent training and technical expertise to the farmers on how to grow pineapples organically and also assisted them to get organic certification. Organizations such as COLEACP, Embassy of Netherlands in Zimbabwe, and Netherlands-based PUM and RVO International also supported them in the certification and export quest.
