News
Chestnut Field Day at the New Freskia Chestnut Collection Point
CNVP Kosovo was happy to organize a chestnut field day with our partner company Freskia, highlighting our joint efforts to strengthen the chestnut value chain across the country.
The cooperation has successfully established the Chestnut Collection Point at Freskia in 2024, where chestnuts collected by the local community, farmers, private forestry owners, and sub-collectors from surrounding villages are brought, selected, classified, and prepared for local market and further processing.
During the field day, participants observed the selection process, enjoyed freshly cooked chestnuts and had the chance to see the very first steps of chestnut by-products preparation, a new product proudly tested by the company’s owner, Shkurte Rrustemi. The event also welcomed representatives from the Environmental Association “Integration,” as well as officials from the municipalities of Gjakova and Deçan.
Kosovo’s 3,500 hectares of chestnut forests lie mainly in its western region, an important natural and economic resource for many rural families. Through the SUNREED project, funded by the Embassy of Sweden in Pristina (Sida), CNVP has carried out targeted interventions to support the long-term growth and sustainability of this sector.
Together, CNVP and Freskia are implementing a bottom-up approach that brings local producers and sub-collectors (local community) into a stronger market system.
Through this initiative, we aim to:
- Increase income opportunities for rural families
- Strengthen market linkages
- Promote forest practices that are environmentally friendly
- Support long-term, sustainable growth of the chestnut sector
Building on these goals, concrete progress is already visible in the value chain. The collection center has collected 40,000 kg of chestnuts in the western region of Kosovo ensuring direct financial benefits for local producers. With this level of production and organized chestnut collection point, the market system is steadliy improving.
Additionally, equipment provided by this initiative is enabling production both for the domestic market and for industrial use.
Furthermore, producers are now going beyond the sale of class 1 and 2 chestnuts, as class 3 chestnuts are beginning to be sold and used for processing, opening new financial opportunities.
Overall, this initiative is contributing to local and regional development.
On this chestnut field day we acknowledged the dedication of our partners, producers, and community members toward a stronger cooperation in the chestnut sector in Kosovo