15 Aug 2016

The Minister of Agriculture Mr Patrick Ralotsia says  the Napro- horticulture produce processing plant in Selebi Phikwe which produces food stuff such as tomato sauce, archer, pickled and dried vegetables has potential to stimulate the agriculture sector in the region, create employment and have a positive impact on the economic diversification drive mandate of the Selebi Phikwe region.

Minister Ralotsia  said this when on tour of the Napro plant recently  to appreciate the progress the plant has made since its commissioning in June.

He said since a market for horticulture produce will be readily available at the plant, more Batswana will be encouraged to engage in horticulture thereby contributing to the growth of agriculture and food security in the country. “The plant will also encourage Batswana to produce quality field products at a larger scale thereby promoting the industrialization of the agricultural sector,” he said. 

He  urged Batswana to take agriculture serious to produce food for the country noting that currently the country imports about P1 billion worth of food annually.

He explained that Batswana have potential to produce enough food for the country and for export. He said Botswana is a country with a small population and vast land that could  be exploited for agricultural purposes. He said though water is scarce in the country, various technologies available could  be utilised to use water sparingly in the agriculture sector to produce food. “We need to produce our own food, preserve it, add value to it and to be self sufficient,” he said.

Meanwhile Dr Martin Kebakile from Napro said government injected capital into the development of the plant. He said the plant serves a tool geared towards promoting and achieving sustainable agriculture and food security. He said  there is need for more horticulture research and adoption of new technologies in the agriculture sector to produce good quality products at a large scale. 

He said agriculture extension officers need to guide and advise farmers accordingly. He said there is need to interface with farmers and sensitize them on how best to produce quality products and increase their yield.

For his part the Operations Manager at Napro Mr Ramogoma Kaisara said the processing plant has the capacity to process 3000kg of pickle plant per shift and up to 60 000kg per month. He also indicated that the plant has potential to process 2100kgs of tomatoes per shift and 42 000kg per month. He said the plant has a staff track of 39 positions but currently they are operating with 29 people. He also indicated that if things go well as anticipated and farmers bring more produce, the organisation will consider increasing production.

He said their intention is for the Napro products to hit the shelves of retailers by September.

“We will be relying on farmers to bring their produce for the plant to keep on operating. We encourage that cluster collection points should be setup for easy collection and transportation of farmers produce to the plant,” he said.

The Permanent Secretary in Ministry of Agriculture Mr Boipelo Khumomatlhare encouraged Napro to package their produce accordingly in order to penetrate the market. He said they should also use platforms such as agriculture shows to market their products. He further indicated that backyard garden farmers and any Motswana producing vegetables at a small scale should also be given the opportunity to sell their products to the plant. ENDS