Photo of the week : between closed borders and unsold tangerines, women of Rumonge are innovating

While fruit growers in the district of Rumonge (southwestern Burundi) are struggling to sell their tangerines due to the border closure with neighboring Rwanda, some women are seizing the opportunity to develop a thriving street business.

Since the breakdown of diplomatic relations between Burundi and Rwanda, numerous consequences have affected the population, even those living near the border. Among them, Rumonge’s agrifruit growers have been hard hit. With Burundian authorities having banned the export of food products to neighboring countries, producers have lost a vital market for their tangerines, which were once widely exported to Rwanda.

“With the closure of the Rwanda-Burundi borders, we have lost our main market. Today, we only sell to Bujumbura (the commercial capital), but that’s not enough. We have no other room for maneuver,” confides a local farmer, worried about seeing his fruit turn yellow on the trees due to the lack of sufficient outlets.

The tangerine season, which runs from May to June, is currently experiencing an abundant harvest, adding to the distress of producers. However, this difficult situation has also created an unexpected opportunity for others : poor women and young girls in the Kizuka zone (Rumonge district) and those in the Magara zone (Bugarama district), also in Rumonge province, in the southwest of the country.

Taking advantage of the massive availability of tangerines, these women have started street vending. Posted along busy roads, they sell the fruit to passersby and motorists. A small basket of tangerines costs between 2,000 and 3,000 Burundi francs, depending on the quality.

“Thanks to this business, I can feed my children,” explains one vendor. Even children are getting involved after school, hoping to bring a few coins home. They run after vehicles stopping at well-known sales points in the region.

Faced with the situation, some farmers are calling for the reopening of borders to restart trade. Others lament the lack of fruit juice processing plants in Burundi, a solution that would prevent the waste of these perishable products.

While awaiting a possible diplomatic solution, tangerines continue to ripen… and sometimes rot, due to a lack of markets.

Our photo : women and young girls sell tangerines to passengers along the Bujumbura–Rumonge road (SOS Médias Burundi)