Pineapple farmers in the Eastern Cape are reaping the fruits of a massive job creation drive by the provincial government.
The department of rural development and agrarian reform has invested around R20 million in at least six pineapple farms in Peddie, where 182 hectares of land is currently under production.
During a recent pineapple harvest at one of the farms, Tarfield in Ngqushwa, MEC Nonkqubela Pieters said the department is on a mission to create full-time and not seasonal jobs, which they intend to do through value addition. She was joined by Premier Oscar Mabuyane and also handed over tractors.
“The government is creating a conducive environment for economic growth, hence we are making opportunities available for businesses to invest. This pineapple production programme is doing exactly that,’’ says Mabuyane.
Investing in rural producers
The Tarfield cooperative sells its pineapples to Summerpride Foods through an offtake agreement. The guarantee of an established market has seen the members steadily increasing their harvest total.
In their first year, the farm recorded a yield of 1 500 tons, in 2020 it produced 2300 tons and this year the farmers are hoping for a yield of 3 000 tons.
Founding member and supervisor Mlungiseleli Bala says that they are “reaping good fruits” from the investment in the pineapple industry, compared to when they ploughed maize.
“The pineapple is drought-resistant, and we are now harvesting good yields despite the dry conditions. This development has changed people’s lives through job creation and ownership of the business,” Bala says.
Bala used to work for a pineapple-producing farm owned by the former Ciskei government’s development agency Ulimocor.
“This is rural development at its best and I am excited to see the progress we are making in reviving programmes that were successful during the previous government,” Mabuyane points out.
“We need to attract investors to projects such as these. I am happy about the commitment and dedication shown by the pineapple farmers. We need to multiply investment to these projects.
“Working together with our partners, we will increase hectarage in pursuit of economic growth,” he says.
Growing for export markets
Currently, the baseline of total land under production for pineapple in the province is 7 800 hectares.
Through the implementation of the agriculture growth and employment programme, government plans to increase the land under production to 10 300ha.
If successful, this will lead to an increase in the baseline for jobs in pineapple production from 8 000 to 10 609 and to an economic growth baseline of R1,45 billion.
The chairperson of Tarfield farm, Zondiwe Maseti, is ecstatic about the revival of pineapple production in the Ngqushwa area.
“We had nothing when we started. It was out of love, but government has elevated us to greater heights. When government says, ‘Get up, do something for yourself and aid will find you along the way,’ it is not an ignorant statement. We have seen that through our experience,” Maseti says.
Many other Ngqushwa pineapple farmers sell to Summerpride Foods, automatically participating in the international export market.
Summerpride fruit manager Pierre Tilney says they are exporting the pineapples from the Ngqushwa farms to South America, Russia and Europe.
The demand worldwide for more pineapple is massive, and the fruit from the Ngqushwa farmers is what the market needs, Tilnely says.
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