Investing in on-farm berry processing and direct sales

Good Practice - Project

Investing in on-farm berry processing and direct sales

On-farm processing can add value to the product and can also make farming a more attractive choice for young farmers - as demonstrated by a berry farm in Finland.

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CAP Implementation

Innovation, knowledge exchange & EIP-AGRI

2015 - 2018 Programming period: 2014-2022 Finland

General information

RDP Priority

P3. Food chain and risk management

RDP Focus Area

3A: Agri-food chain integration & quality

RDP Measure

M04: Investments in physical assets

Summary

Mattila berry farm in the Huittinen, Satakunta region of South-West Finland, is a typical, family-owned, specialised plant production farm. The farm went through a generation change in 2003 and has since been heavily investing in on-farm processing and direct sales to customers in order to improve profitability. The Finnish RDP has supported the farm’s investment in a berry processing unit.

Results

The turnover in 2017 was 1 800 000 euros: already exceeding the set target.

The number of full-time jobs increased from 10 in 2015 to 27 in 2017.

The new processing facilities allowed for the development of new products. One example that sells very well is raspberry sparkling wine.

Interest in on-farm shopping has increased. The farm shop had about 10 000 visitors and 4 000 sales in 2017. The value of purchases has been steadily growing too.