News

Filling a Niche with Fruits and Vegetables

by Linda Burcham

Reza Rafie knows there is money to be made in the specialty fruit and vegetable crops arena – and he wants farmers to know it, too.

Rafie, commercial vegetable Extension specialist at Virginia State University (VSU), has been working for two years to grow and market unusual produce in what he calls a “niche” agriculture effort.

“It’s a different way of thinking about agriculture,” Rafie says. “I help farmers look at it this way: they’re not growing a ‘crop’; they’re growing ‘food.’ That opens up a lot of possibilities if they are willing to explore niche markets and adapt what they are growing to suit today’s buyers and new trends.”

Consumers today are more interested in locally grown produce and in the nutritional value of the foods they eat. Additionally, as the population of Hispanic, Asian, and Middle Eastern natives in the United States continues to grow, more people are looking for fruits and vegetables that are important to their culture and traditions – which may not be available in typical American grocery stores.

Last year, Rafie and co-worker Chris Mullins, a research specialist, planted seedless watermelon, long beans, bitter melon, canary melon, and white guava – among other fruits and vegetables – at Randolph Farms at VSU. The long beans are popular in Asian cuisine, and the canary melon has been used as a natural medicine for diabetes. Consumers interested in eating healthfully are attracted to the white guava’s high antioxidant level, and it is also popular in Asian and Indian dishes.

Rafie and Mullins made connections with produce managers at Whole Foods Market stores in the Charlottesville and Richmond areas. Working with those managers, they packaged and marketed fresh vegetables from Randolph Farm to the public. In doing so, they tested the interest of the public in the products, while also educating the markets’ produce managers about these unusual offerings. The project was a financial success, resulting in a $1,000 donation to support undergraduate scholarships at VSU from the proceeds.

What Rafie and Mullins learned about producing, packaging, and marketing the crops is even more valuable and they are passing along this knowledge to producers through a series of workshops and demonstrations.

Rafie and Mullins are hard at work testing other new specialty crops at Randolph Farm this growing season. Next year’s new product might be the one they think has the greatest niche potential yet – fresh locally-grown ginger root.