After more than a decade and over a billion Rands pumped into the Mpumalanga Fresh Produce Market, the long-awaited moment has arrived. The facility has been officially handed over to the provincial government, paving the way for the launch of operations and signalling a promising future ahead.
The much-anticipated market is set to be a game-changer for farmers in the province with a key focus on Mozambique and Swaziland being main buyers. The market has cost taxpayers over one billion Rand.
All systems go
The acting spokesperson for the department of economic development and tourism, Silence Mhlaba, confirmed to Food For Mzansi that the facility was handed over to them and the department of agriculture, rural development, land and environmental affairs.
“The facility was handed over to proceed with the operationalisation process. There is an operator that the department of agriculture has already appointed to drive the operationalisation process.
“Meanwhile, the department of economic development and tourism will continue to assist farmers through the fresh produce market to access international markets, while agriculture department will pay attention to supporting both large and small-scale farmers to ramp up their production for export through the market,” he said.
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While there have been concerns with the budget allocated to the facility over the years, the department has allocated a further R700 000.
“The 700 000 budget will be utilised for, among other things, to address retention activities on the construction side of the project and some will be used to set up operational activities,” Mhlaba explained.
Market will open doors for all farmers
“The Mpumalanga International Fresh Produce Market is meant to assist both commercial and small-scale farmers, therefore, the market will also be used as a platform to promote and trade small, medium and micro enterprises’ produce,” he added.
Vicky Mhlanga, a poultry farmer from Ludlow in Mpumalanga, said they are hoping that the market will prioritise farmers in all regions of the province.
“I think it’s important that all farmers in the province be given an opportunity to trade with the fresh produce market. It will position us very well with our counterparts in other countries like Mozambique and Swaziland. We look forward for it to being fully operational so we can take advantage of it,” she said.
National African Farmers Union Mpumalanga president Jabu Mahlangu said the union has heard from the premier and the MEC of economic development and tourism that the Mpumalanga International Fresh Produce Market is reaching the final construction phase.
“We welcome this development, as NAFU we believe the operationalisation will go a long way to create what will possibly become a facility where our farmers big and small will converge to sell their produce and buyers from the Province the country and our neighbours.
“We believe the NAFU project working with our partners of farmer development will take advantage of this opportunity to provide a better environment to grow our membership, create more capacity and address the dire strains of food insecurity and address job security and other social ills,” he said.
According to the provincial government, the market will give local farmers access to local, regional and international fresh produce markets and will aid in ensuring food security for the region.
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