Fifty-five small-scale farmers have struck ‘red gold’ in Namaqualand, in the Northern Cape Province.

Not only have they been allocated ten hectares of land each for the cultivation of red paprika, but the Northern Cape provincial government has invested R17-million (a 25% shareholding) in a state-of-the-art paprika factory on their behalf The R55-million factory, a joint venture between the Northern Cape government, Gili Greenworld and Haymake Investments, was opened in Springbok on March 6 by premier of the province Manne Dipico. The factory, which was relocated from Thabazimbi, will be creating 78 permanent jobs. It will produce concentrated paprika oleoresin by extracting oil from the paprika pods and paprika spice by grinding the dried paprika pods.

“These products will be exported to Europe, the US, Mexico, the Far East and Middle East and, through their factory shareholding, the local community will benefit from this international market,” says Thabo Mothibi, spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform, Environment and Conservation. It is estimated that the Goodhouse farmers will make a profit of R30 000 each from the first sales of their paprika.

Paprika oleoresin is used as a natural red food colorant, while paprika is used in the cooking of Spain, Mexico and the countries of the Balkan Peninsula and is especially associated with Hungarian cuisine.

Mothibi has no doubts that the paprika quality will be the best on the African continent and its quality will be second only to Hungary in the European market.

The Goodhouse Paprika Project is ready to rake huge spin-offs from the world’s paprika market. The projected factory sales for the first six years are estimated at R276-million.

The raw material for the factory – 2 000 t/y of paprika – is to be supplied by the emerging Goodhouse Agricultural Corporation, the 55 small-scale black farmers, who acquired Land Redistribution Agricultural Developments grants from the Department of Land Affairs and loans from the Land Bank. Each beneficiary has been allocated ten hectares for the cultivation of paprika along the banks of the Orange river, where the government has invested about R80-million in an irrigation project, including high-tech drip-irrigation.

“About 25% of the 550 ha is under paprika so far, and in two to three months the desert will be green and ready for harvesting,” says Mothibi.

Over the first five years Israeli Gili Arbel, an irrigation engineer and manager of the Goodhouse Irrigation Project, will transfer skills to the 55 emerging farmers, who have undersigned a production contract with the project managers Gili Greenworld and Variety Holding that are operating as Nocal. By the end of the year it is expected that the factory and farm will create 1 500 jobs.

The project is set to change the fortunes of the beneficiaries in the Goodhouse and Steinkopf communities, some of whom have been jobless for many years because of the large downscaling and total closure of mines in the region.