Pilot agricultural production to export quality produce in just 12 months means that Dube AgriZone has come a long way in a remarkably
short time.
Farming under glass was first undertaken in Dube TradePort’s AgriZone
in April last year with just two 2ha pilot produce production projects, growing tomatoes and cucumbers, with the simultaneous provision of comprehensive and ongoing on-the-job training for the workforce, drawn primarily from the ranks of the unemployed.
August 2011 saw a further 8ha of greenhouse facilities come on-stream – 4ha each for the expanded production of cucumbers and tomatoes. By September another 2ha had been planted to peppers. This was doubled in March this year with an additional 2ha being made available for
pepper production.
To date the AgriZone has produced 165 tons of peppers in just 2ha of greenhouse space and is on track to produce between 20 and 23 tons of peppers a week by September this year, while being close to achieving the production of 80 000 cucumbers a week. Both crop-types have recently drawn export interest from the European Union, regarded as a remarkable feat given that crop production was only launched a year ago, using a workforce with little or no farming experience.
An additional 4ha of greenhouse space will be made available by November this year, dedicated to the growing of flowers to complement agricultural production in Dube AgriZone.