The Northroost Hatchery in Makhado/Louis Trichardt was officially opened on October 20, with this posited to be a boom for chicken production in Limpopo.

It is noted to be a modern, new facility, that can produce 208 000 quality day-old-chicks weekly.

Northroost is a joint venture between local Makhado entrepreneur Clive Tigere of KC Hatchery, Country Bird Holdings (CBH) and Bushvalley Chicken.

“This is a game changer for broiler farmers in Limpopo who have never before had access to such consistent volumes of high-quality day-old chicks. The local economy will benefit, more jobs can be created and the informal market can grow,” Tigere acclaimed during the opening ceremony.

“CBH supplies the fertilised Arbor Acre eggs, Clive oversees the hatching process and Bushvalley takes a significant percentage of the day-old chicks,” explained CBH Brendon de Boer.

He added that the facility was built and kitted out through an investment of R56-milllion.

“Clive qualified for an Industrial Development Corporation grant and we had started the application process over year ago, but government funding always take time and we didn't want to delay. So, between CBH and Bushvalley, we decided to find the bridge financing so that we could get going with construction, de Boer explained.

Tigere’s grant did came through earlier this month.

Northroost’s first batch of fertilised eggs were set on August 24 and hatched on September 14, setting in motion a cycle in which two batches a week are hatched, several days apart.

So far, Tigere has maintained a good hatch ratio of over 90%, and by the time of the official opening, the tally stood at over a million day-old-chicks that have been distributed into the broiler market of Limpopo.

The new hatchery was constructed with expansion in mind, and the infrastructure can be easily adapted in future to double its current capacity.

Quality hatchery equipment was imported, water reservoirs were built and generators installed to keep the systems going in the event of power outages.

For Tzaneen-based Bushvalley, the proximity to Northroost adds a factor of convenience and also enables them to provide daily administrative and other support to Tigere.

For Tigere and his local farmer clients, Northroost is said to represent a bright new future.

“Farmers from Limpopo can now raise high-quality chicks efficiently, without the high transport costs that are generally incurred when bringing chicks in from hundreds of kilometers away.

“As their costs go down, they can become more competitive, grow their businesses, and create more jobs, and we will see this positive response circling further and further,” he commented.

“The informal poultry industry tends to fly under the radar, but it represents so much opportunity for growth and wealth creation in many areas of the country where there are few other job opportunities.

“I hope that our example can serve as a model that government could apply to make this happen for other entrepreneurs too, so that transformation can happen organically,” Tigere emphasised.