North West agri-parks gain momentum, producers to own 70%
With the progress made on the Springbokpan agri-park, in the North West, Rural Development and Land Reform Minister Gugile Nkwinti was confident that the national launch of the agri-parks concept would be hosted by the province.
Government had identified three agri-parks in the North West whose establishment was expected to assist the province in achieving its earmarked 6% economic growth.
The Springbokpan agri-park included the refurbishment of a grain silo. The other two were the Moretele and Vryburg agri-parks.
Nkwinti, along with North West MEC for Rural Environmental and Agricultural Development Manketsi Tlhape, recently visited the Springbokpan agri-park to assess the “state of readiness” of the silo.
Nkwinti emphasised that it was important for government to look into South Africa’s existing infrastructure, hence the refurbishment at Springbokpan.
Funding to rehabilitate the Springbokpan grain silo was secured from Treasury and as of June last year the process was already under way.
The Springbokpan agri-park would consist of milling (starch and animal), a mechanisation warehouse, an input warehouse and foodbank.
Springbokpan, as with all agri-parks, would also implement a sub-sector operator model to enforce clustering and processing, thereby creating market access.
The initiative was projected to ensure job creation, and would generate revenue and empower women and youth. It was further expected to attract investment in both domestic and international fund markets and guarantee food security in rural households and the revival of food gardens in rural areas.
Nkwinti advised that government planned for producers to own 70% of the agri-parks, with the balance to be allocated to government and other contributors, adding that the national concept was ready for implementation and should, therefore, go ahead.
However, Tlhape noted that government had yet to decide what percentage of produce farmers would need to contribute to the silos.
She stressed that the agri-park concept was meant to support farmers and, therefore, it was important that they be hands-on with regard to the initiative.
"It is, therefore, up to the farmers to ensure that the agri-parks concept lives," Tlhape said.
Nkwinti echoed her sentiments and emphasised the need for communities in the North West to ensure that all land was productive.
"If we have productive land, our silos will fulfil their purpose,” he said.
The establishment of South Africa’s agri-parks follows President Jacob Zuma’s State of the Nation address earlier this year, when he committed government to promote agri-parks and the transformation of rural economies.
As such, economically viable sites in 27 priority districts had been identified across the country for the construction of agri-parks and R2-billion had been made available for the agri-park initiative. Of this sum, 1% had been allocated to capacity building, especially in municipalities.
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation