02 Mar 2016

Selebi Phikwe Agro-Processing Plant has been established to store excess agricultural produce, Assistant Minister of Agriculture, Mr Kgotla Autlwetse has said.  

Answering a question in Parliament on Tuesday, Mr Autlwetse said his ministry consulted with farmers in the Selebi Phikwe Economic Diversification Unit (SPEDU) region over supply of raw materials for the plant. 

He said they recently consulted with 100 horticultural farmers and all of them have enlisted to supply the plant, including those in the Tuli Block area. 

Farmers outside SPEDU regions from Pandamatenga and North West District have also shown interest, he said. 

The assistant minister said raw materials needed for the plant are cabbages, onions, tomatoes, beetroots, carrots, green pepper, chilli pepper and other leafy vegetables. 

Mr Autlwetse said Talana Farms, which was operated by an investor in partnership with Botswana Development Corporation (BDC), stopped production last year. 

He said this was due to the fact that the quality of produce declined overtime, resulting in retail shops avoiding it. 

Her told Parliament that the Ministry of Agriculture intervened by providing advice on best cropping plan, but was rejected by the investor, leading to failure to stagger production, flooding of markets and lack of crop rotation, which subsequently increased pests infestation. 

He said employees were not retrenched, but about 100 left due to inactivity. 

The assistant minister has said horticultural production had grown from 31 300 metric tonnes in 2009 to 47 539 metric tonnes in 2015. Talana farms then represented eight per cent of total national production, but declined over the years until it reached zero in 2015. 

While the farm reduced production from 2011, the entire sub-sector grew by 18 per cent annually, he said, adding that importation of fruits and vegetables were not directly affected by Talana Farm's closure. 

The assistant minister said the increase in fresh produce retailers subsequently led to expansion of production levels by farmers already in production and that the impact of Talana Farm on import substitution cannot be directly measured. 

He said the matter of Talana Farms was before the courts and therefore was not in a position to state when it would be operational. 

At full production, it employed about 500 people of whom 300 were permanent and the rest temporary and the same number is anticipated once the farm is resuscitated and fully operational. 

Mmadinare MP, Mr Kefentse Mzwinila had asked the minister to state the reasons and spirit for the establishment of the Selebi Phikwe Agro-Processing plant with respect to the supply or suppliers of the project's raw materials. 

He also asked why Talana Farms has stopped production and how many workers have been retrenched and the extent to which it used to supply vegetables in the country. He also asked about the number of jobs expected to be created at full production. Ends