Swazi Observer

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RETAIL MARKETS IMPORT E1.2 BN HORTICULTURAL PRODUCE

By SIFISO NHLABATSI | 2023-03-08

Retail markets have indicated that they have an unmet market demand for horticultural produce and they import produce worth E1.2 billion annually from neighbouring countries.

This has prompted the National Agricultural Marketing Board (NAMBoard) through the Smallholder Market-Led Project (SMLP) to host a Horticulture Innovation Platform titled: ‘Producing Quality and Safe Vegetables for Markets’.

This platform seeks to equip, empower and capacitate local farmers to produce according to globally accepted standards.

The workshop will be held tomorrow at Esibayeni Lodge. NAMBoard Chief Executive Officer, Bhekizwe Maziya said retail markets were willing to source from local farmers, but there were underlying limiting factors which ranged from inconsistent supply, poor quality and expensive produce.

He said after the first innovation platform titled ‘Resilience Through Scarcity and Costly Farming Inputs’ NAMBoard was mandated by the ministry of agriculture to establish a horticulture revolving fund to focus on the production of highly imported vegetables.

“As a result of the establishment of the fund, we anticipate a surge in the volume of produce hitting the markets and thus substituting the imports. Guidance to farmers is then required to ensure that the produce is of good quality and healthy standards and safe for human consumption. The alignment of local farmers in adherence to production standards, products specifications and exports requirements is desired,” Maziya stated.

He said as an organisation with the obligation to promote local production to lead to sustainable food security in the country, it had become evident that there was a need for interventions to address the challenges based on the current economic landscape.

“NAMBoard, through the smallholder market-led project (SMLP) will be hosting the third Horticulture Innovation Platform titled: ‘Producing Quality and Safe Vegetables for Markets,” Maziya stated.

He said the SLMP was implemented under the ministry of agriculture and its objective was to enhance food and nutrition security and incomes among smallholder producer families through diversified agricultural production and market linkages and the goal was to contribute to national poverty reduction.

Maziya said the Eswatini Water and Agriculture Development Enterprise (ESWADE) was responsible for the project implementation and the market-led production component was coordinated by NAMBoard.

“A market-led approach to developing the agricultural smallholder sector requires an up-front analysis of skills, knowledge and capacity to engage in various value chain activities. A well-coordinated horticultural value chain production in Eswatini has a potential to improve the country’s GDP through import substitution and export promotion,” Maziya said.Some of the workshop’s objectives include establishing means to minimise imports and stimulate local production of quality and safe produce, to build capacity of farmers on product specifications as required by markets and to introduce farmers to production standards like Global GAP as a demonstration of safe produce.

The workshop also aims at improving local farmers’ understanding of export requirements in relation to quality standards.

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