22 Sep 2024

Until the recent past, it was a norm that Botswana met its shortfall of citrus fruit supply by buying from South Africa.

Tables have now turned, thanks to Selebi Phikwe Citrus (SPC), a diverse venture covering 1 500 hectares of land, which has become the country’s first commercial agriculture development catering for local and global markets.

The project represents a significant step forward in the country’s journey towards self-sufficiency, with spin-off effects that will generate other value chain business opportunities.

Situated in the outskirts of Selebi Phikwe, a once copper/nickel mining town, the flagship agricultural project transformed the production of citrus fruits in Botswana, becoming one of the largest consolidated citrus ventures in Southern African and the biggest locally, with over 800 000 fruits that include lemon, grapefruit, Valencia, orange, mandarin and other cultivars.

Owned by private investors under the name Selebi Phikwe Citrus, the farm had its first harvest in March, with 70 per cent of the produce exported to international markets whilst 30 per cent was consumed locally.

Implementing a project of such magnitude was no small task, it needed joint efforts of government departments and parastatal organisations such as SPEDU, Botswana Investment and Trade Centre, Water Utilities Corporation, and other stakeholders, to see to it that what started as a dream became a reality.

In December 2020, President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi performed a groundbreaking ceremony of the project to mark its commencement, whose first harvest he also graced, a sign of government commitment to develop horticulture, and indeed the agriculture sector as a whole.

“We exported 440 tonnes of mandarins to overseas markets, mainly Europe while 525 tonnes were sold locally, said SPC’s pack operations manager, Mr Kobus Botha in a recent interview.

Of the 525 tonnes sold locally, he said 360 tonnes were purchased by traders, adding, “we did well on the local market and the product finished quickly, save for lemons and grapefruits.”

He expected the project to make a kill out of the mandarin sales though severe frost in winter contributed to two to three weeks’ loss of mandarin hours.

A total of 615 tonnes of valencia were exported while 336 tonnes were consumed locally.

“The second harvest will be bigger than the first. We are expecting four times more of produce in the next harvest,” said Mr Botha, who emphasised the importance of setting up a juice factory that would process some of the farm produce.

The farm is expected to employ more than 1 000 workers once fully operational.

Selebi Phikwe Citrus does not only promote food security, but also brings with it knowledge and skills that the local community can tap into, to grow the agriculture sector.

The company also employs graduate students from Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (BUAN) and through a Memorandum of Understanding signed by SPC and BUAN, the two agreed to collaborate on horticultural production, value chain development and research on citrus among others. ENDS