Cultivation of tiny gherkins becomes a big deal in

Kosovo,
thanks to USAID
October 2014
Advanced trellising, other
technological innovations get
industry of the ground and
growing.
Selvete Fetahu shows of some of
the 7 tons of gherkins her family
grew this year on their northeastern
Kosovo farm. Sales were brisk.
We never had a single problem in
the entire process because we
followed the technical advice of the
USAI e!perts, who guided and
directed us all the way to the end."
# Selvete $etahu, %rst&time gher'in
grower, (odu)ev*+(odu)evo.

A display at a USAI!sponsored "eld
day demonstrates the proper
#lassi"#ation of gherkins prior to
their sale for making pi#kles.
,osovo-s gher'in farmers are no longer in a
pic'le, than's to USAI-s assistance in helping
them sustainably, pro%tably and dramatically
increase production of this sought&after crop.
,osovo, li'e many other .uropean countries, has
a huge appetite for gher'ins / the immature fruit
of the cucumber plant. 0ome canners and
industrial processors ali'e pic'le and preserve the
fresh&pic'ed young cucumbers in late summer
and early fall. (ic'les are a mainstay of many a
traditional winter meal.
$or years, farmers in ,osovo didn-t grow enough
gher'ins to meet local demand. 1ow, together
with USAI-s assistance, annual domestic
production of gher'ins has grown to 2,333 metric
tons, supplanting imports.
USAI, through its 1ew 4pportunities for
Agriculture 514A6 pro)ect, has focused on
introducing new varieties and production
techni7ues to ,osovo-s gher'in farmers, many
either women or minorities.
8he newly introduced improvements include the
production of seedlings in trays %lled with 7uality
substrate, as well as the use of drip irrigation,
plastic mulch and more targeted fertili9ation.
$armers also have begun using high trellises to
grow cucumber plants, which increases their
e!posure to air and sunlight. 8hat in turn favors
growth, discourages pests and facilitates thrice&
wee'ly harvests in season.
8he yields of the crop using improved
management techni7ues promoted by 14A are
resulting in yields which are signi%cantly higher
than traditional production practices for the crop.
8he remar'able yield response combined with a
ready mar'et means that even very small areas
of production can be e!tremely pro%table," says
USAI+14A program director :ar' Wood.
In 23;<, USAI+14A directly assisted 22 gher'in
farmers / ;= female ethnic Albanians and >
Fetahu employed "ve relatives$
along with two seasonal workers$
to tend her family%s &.'!he#tare
(&.)*!a#re+ gherkin plot.
members of ,osovo-s Serbian minority
population. espite the heavy rains seen during
the ?3&day growing season, the farmers saw good
yields on their 3.2&hectare 53.<?&acre6 open&%eld
plots.
Selvete $etahu had to overcome the doubts of her
husband and sons to convince the family to plant
gher'ins for this %rst time this year. 8heir plot,
outside (odu)ev*+(odu)evo in northeastern
,osovo, yielded > tons of gher'ins. 8he harvest
netted her family =,@33 .uros, which they used to
pay of an agriculture loan / and to rent more
land with an eye to planting even more gher'ins
ne!t year.
We had no trouble at all in selling our gher'ins,"
$etahu says. It-s a great crop to cultivate."
$armers li'e $etahu who are eager to learn and
put into practice the ongoing technical assistance
that USAI+14A continues to provide, are showing
increasing con%dence and competence needed to
bring sustainability to the sector, says 1aim
,rasni7i, a USAI+14A value chain specialist.
8o further difuse the innovative changes in the
gher'in industry, USAI+14A has staged %eld
days for interested farmers. A recent such peer&
learning event in $etahu-s village drew do9ens of
farmers.
USAI+14A also has helped lin' ,osovo-s gher'in
farmers with commercial buyers. :uch of the crop
is currently being grown contractually. Aontracts
in farming pre&establish 7uality, price, 7uantity
and timing. 8hat predictability will serve to
underpin the ne!t stage in the sector-s
developmentB e!ports.