A local Private processor of essential oils, Ikirezi Natural Products limited has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with farmers to buy Patchouli leaves and process into essential oils to be exported.
The government is banking on export diversification, especially in nontraditional exports like coffee, tea and minerals to cushion economy and bridge the existing trade imbalance.
Ikirezi Natural Products Limited has been processing essential oils from other products like Geranium and patchouli comes as its third product.
According to the MoU, in a three year contract, farmers will supply dry leaves to the company which will then be processed into a final product that can produce perfumes, medicine and different food flavours.
“Ikirezi have been in this business to process and produce essential oils thus we hope farmers will greatly benefit from this MoU,” said Uwimmbabazi Assinath Director of Diversification in National Agriculture and Exports Development Board (NAEB).
She said that Ikirezi comes in after a private French investor who has been in business since 2008 decided not to renew his contract with farmers.
According to Uwimbabazi, district authorities in collaboration with NAEB intervened and approached different investors to take up the market that had been owned by the French investor and Ikirezi accepted to venture into business.
Patchouli is considered as one of the products in the new chain of exports where farmers and investors could earn big.
An investor projects to get around US$6000 while a farmer is estimated to earn US$3000 per year per hectare.
“Prices are likely to increase depending on how this product is selling and I am convinced the demand is there,” she said.
On average, it is said that 5Ml of patchouli oils costs between US$10 and US$12 while, a kilogram of patchouli dry leaves from farmers will cost Rwf400.
So far, the product is grown in Bugarama,Rusizi district by Inyesamihigo cooperative and in Kirehe district by ND-Oyak Limited. The product is mainly exported in USA, United Kingdom and France.
NAEB pledged to work closely with Ikirezi to support farmers to improve the product in terms of quality and quantity through extension services, trainings on how to handle the product, buy farmers seeds and any technical assistance they may need.
In a bid to encourage farmers grow the crop, government through NAEB will provide concessional loans to investors and 15 per cent discount per tree to farmers with a maximum of 100,000 plants.
To date, traditional exports contribute above 70 percent of the national exports and the government has pledged to focus on horticulture and other new export chain to reduce the traditional dependency.
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