Byline: Refeloe Letsoisa
03 May 2024
Mpumalanga Premier Ms Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane will this week officially handed over the completed 1st Phase of the Mpumalanga Agri-Park to its rightful beneficiaries at SasolKraal Farm in Secunda on Thursday, 02 May 2024.
The Agri-Park is being developed on the land that was given by SASOL to the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs in 2022, for the operation of agricultural activities.
This follows a partnership agreement entered into between SASOL and the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs to develop a multi-disciplinary and multi-stakeholder Agricultural Park in SasolKraal Farm.
The agreement was aimed at bringing together the producer groups of various commodities and to provide access to marketing and conservation facilities for their produce.
The Secunda Agri-Park project has a total land of 300 hectares, currently only 200 hectares are in operation by two main cooperatives which are the Esperanza Coop and Zimisele Junior7704 Coop, which both produce vegetables.
The first phase of the department’s intervention, has seen the refurbishment of six poultry houses, two of which have been stocked with 2,5-thousand chicks.
The rest have been earmarked for co-ops operated by the youth, women and people living with disabilities.
The department further constructed a piggery house and stocked in 20 sows and 2 boars.
Once all planned phases are completed, activities at the Agri-Park will include cannabis and hemp production, fresh produce park house, fertilizer blending, aqua pontics, vegetable tunnels, peach production and pipe manufacturing plant.
