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Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies says a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Eastern Cape provincial government and dairy products manufacturer Nestlé South Africa on Thursday would create 800 permanent and seasonal jobs by 2019.
The MoU formed part of a public–private sector collaboration between industry and government for the chicory sector – a programme aimed at encouraging local farmers to grow chicory and supply it to Nestlé for use in its coffee product Ricoffy.
Speaking at the signing ceremony in Alexandria, Eastern Cape, on Thursday, Davies said the agreement was aligned with the nine-point agroprocessing programme announced by President Jacob Zuma during his State of the Nation Address earlier this year, which had set a target of creating one-million jobs for the agriculture and the agroprocessing sector.
“The agroprocessing sector, particularly chicory farming, has the potential to generate an industrial impetus that can create jobs and answer some of the economic challenges that the country is currently facing,” Davies stated.
The agreement would also see Nestlé provide technical support to ensure optimal quality and specification of chicory in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape.