Pineapples produce jobs in Burundi

An enterprising pineapple juice production plant has opened in Rutana – the first to capitalise on what is a new crop for Burundi’s rural communities.

Pineapple is cultivated in both the valleys and mountains, is resistant to a harsh climate and is mainly grown to sell rather than as a daily food. Training from Cord has just been completed and the first juice sampled – delicious!

The production unit will employ around 10 members of the Koratumenyekane Association, who have bought pineapples via the local market whilst they wait for their own crops to mature.

With the unit ideally placed on a junction between the road from Gitega and the capital Bujumbura to Rutana, they expect to sell the juice across a wide area.

Their aim is to produce 500,000 litres of juice a year.