14 Mar 2024

President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi is scheduled to officially open a state-of-the-art vegetable storage facility, with an investment value of P70 million on March 15.

Located at Jan-Pierre Roos’ Seleka Ranch in Sherwood in the Central District, the cutting-edge vegetable storage facility is poised to boost agricultural efficiency and profitability.

The facility offers secure cold storage solutions for horticultural produce and citrus fruits, promising enhanced efficiency and profitability for farmers.

It is also poised to transform farming operations to ensure optimal profits while at the same time minimising risks.

The official opening of the storage facility by President Masisi will be held under the theme, Preserving Prosperity: Empowering Farmers, Ensuring Food Security for Botswana.

In an interview, owner of the facility and a renowned farmer, Mr Jan-Pierre Roos, emphasised the importance of having a cutting-edge storage facility on the farm. 

He said the facility’s role in extending the shelf life of produce, thereby preventing losses and decay in vegetable produce.

Mr Roos said construction of the facility commenced mid-last year and was completed the same year.

“The facility, equipped with highly sophisticated computer systems, also serves to deter pests, rodents, and potential theft,” he said.

Mr Roos highlighted the perishable nature of vegetables and the need to preserve their freshness post-harvest. 

Through precise control of temperatures, humidity, ventilation besides other variables, the cold storage facility maintains the quality of vegetables for an extended period of six to nine months.

Mr Roos is the proprietor of two farm blocks, Kijane Ranch and Seleka Farm, both located in Sherwood and operating under the popular brand name, JP Roos Vegetables. 

The farms specialise in the production of premium-quality vegetables, catering for a variety of customers in the market.

The storage facility, he noted, contributes to price stabilisation by carrying over produce from periods of high production to periods of low production.

He said the cold storage was the most effective space for bulk handling perishable goods, especially fruits and vegetables, between production and marketing.

“Most fruits and vegetables have a very limited shelf life after harvest especially at normal harvesting temperatures and therefore postharvest cooling rapidly removes field heat from vegetables,” he noted.

He further indicated that efficient storage technologies efficiently preserved the quality and freshness of the stored vegetables.

He underlined the importance of post-harvest cooling in swiftly extracting field heat from freshly harvested crops before shipment or processing, noting its critical role in preserving the quality of perishable commodities. 

He reiterated that the quality of produce upon entry into storage remained consistent upon retrieval.

Mr Roos highlighted the facility’s specialised partitions which had been designed to aid farmers in storing surplus produce to prevent losses. He emphasised the importance of continuous monitoring through a 24-hour computer system for optimal preservation.

He explained that the storage facility comprised two large units for onions and another eight for potatoes, each uniquely designed to regulate air differently for optimal preservation. 

He emphasised the need for separate storage for onions and potatoes given their distinct requirements and that they could not be stored together in the same unit or room.

Regarding the storage facility’s capacity, Mr Roos stated that it required 80 to 100 hectares to reach full capacity. 

He noted that other farmers interested in using the infrastructure would be permitted access for a fee, with pricing still under consideration as they worked out the best modalities. Ends