Church Sets Up Fruit Processing Plant

Grace Mugabe

RWANDA 060515-1 May 15, 2006

[L'Eglise Episcopal au Rwanda - Rwanda] The Anglican Church has built a modern processing plant in Shyogwe Muhanga District that produces juice and jam out of pineapples and passion fruits.

This was disclosed recently by Viateur Ntarindwa, the plant's project co-ordinator while touring the plant situated in former Gitarama province. He said that the plant will supplement government's efforts to reduce poverty among residents.

"Already five hundred local residents are engaged in the growing of pineapples and passion fruits. I believe that many families in the area will improve on their standards of living since pineapples and passion fruits are raw materials for the juice plant.

This is also perceived as a grand opportunity to these families, since there are in a better position to feed and send their children to school," he said, but did not disclose the amount of funds spent on the processing plant.

The idea of setting up the plant was developed by the Anglican Church in Shyogwe in an attempt to help the community reduce poverty.

Eleven hectares of land have so far been ploughed for pineapple farming, and more land is to be prepared for the activity.

Ntarindwa disclosed that the project is not limited to only processing pineapples and passion fruits, but also other agricultural crops like onions, tomatoes, corn flowers, cabbages.