Kwadiwa Citrus gears up for market debut
Chakalisa Dube | Tuesday March 12, 2024 08:44
Addressing the media during a tour organised by the Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC), van Rooyen exuded confidence in the farm's readiness for both local consumption and international export markets. Situated in the fertile expanse of the Tuli Block area and established in 2017, Kwadiwa Citrus Farm represents a private investment of nearly P30 million into the citrus project.
“Our first produce will go into local market In May. We will also be ready for the export market. “While we anticipate challenges, our outlook remains positive. We will have another harvest targeting June, July,” he said. From the 40 hectares planted so far, van Rooyen says the harvest from this year will only be from 26 hectares.
“In May we will harvest the Benny Valencia oranges which will give us 15 to 18 tonnes per hectare from a total of six hectares. The Gusacora Valencia oranges will give us five to 10 tonnes per hectare from 20 hectares in June or July. Next season we expect our harvest to double up as most of our trees will have matured,” he added.
While van Rooyen refrained from specifying export destinations, he hinted at a strategic market alignment with Selebi-Phikwe Citrus (SPC), which is poised to distribute 70% of its produce to international markets like China, Japan, the United States, and Canada, amongst others.
The remaining percentage will cater to local demand and neighbouring countries. “I think we are in the same market as Selebi Phikwe Citrus (SPC). We will begin a lot of marketing soon,” van Rooyen said. He underscored that premium-grade fruits will be earmarked for exports, with the remainder distributed within the local market. Kwadiwa currently has 17 permanent employees, but the general manager emphasised that they will hire more casual employees during the planting season as well when harvesting. Outlining Kwadiwa's ambitious plans, he stated that the goal is to have planted 100 hectares (of citrus fruits) by the year 2026.
“At this stage we have about 40 hectares planted which is approximately 19 000 trees. We are busy with another expansion that will see us adding another 20 hectares which will give us about 10 000 trees,” he added, Despite the optimism, van Rooyen acknowledged the infrastructure challenges plaguing the region, particularly the road network linking Tuli Block to Selebi-Phikwe.
"Transporting our produce to Phikwe poses a significant challenge due to the poor road conditions. We now have an opportunity to pick our oranges and pack them at SPC, but to transport them will be an enormous challenge," van Rooyen lamented, highlighting the risk of deterioration during transit. He emphasised the need for government intervention to address the infrastructural shortcomings to facilitate seamless operations among farmers in the Tuli Block area. Citrus farming is seen as one of the major avenues that can be used to enhance Botswana’s food security. For a longtime the country depended mostly on citrus produce from South Africa.