New facility launched
Michael Mabuyakhulu, MEC for Economic Development and Tourism, officially opened two new centres of excellence within Dube TradePort's future farming platform, Dube AgriZone.
A NEW agricultural facility at Dube TradePort is poised to produce more than three million plantlets a year, expanding to five million in the future, and is set for the export of young plants across the world and the supply of material for local farmers. While the introduction of a second resource, a high-care fresh produce value adding distribution centre, becomes the first of its kind in KwaZulu-Natal.
Speaking at the official opening of the two new centres of excellence within Dube TradePort’s future farming platform, Dube AgriZone, Michael Mabuyakhulu, MEC for Economic Development and Tourism, said: “Agriculture has always been a key component of KwaZulu-Natal’s economic mix and with the growing need to ensure continued food security in South Africa, this is a sector which must be regarded as being of extreme importance going forward.”
Opening the vital new Dube AgriZone components, Farmwise Packhouse and Distribution Centre (a fresh produce value adding distribution facility) and Dube AgriLab (an ultra-modern plant tissue culture laboratory), Mabuyakhulu said KwaZulu-Natal’s agricultural sector should embrace advanced farming methods to ensure competitiveness and to meet and exceed future produce demands.
Dube AgriZone provides the largest climate-controlled growing area under glass in Africa and has been specially developed to promote agricultural products with a short shelf-life and which may require being flown immediately to a range of market destinations.
The two new facilities complete the first phase of Dube AgriZone’s development, creating South Africa’s most technologically advanced farming area.
With Dube TradePort Corporation having developed the 4 200 square metre centre, designed for the rigorous demands of modern produce supply chains, private sector company, Farmwise Marketing (Pty) Ltd., delivers the vital expertise in utilising a series of ripening rooms to ripen pre-harvested produce, so ensuring rapid and timely responses to the demands of the market.
The company is responsible for the ripening, processing, packaging and distribution of fresh produce from both Dube AgriZone and farmers in the surrounding areas.
The Farmwise Packhouse and Distribution Centre, which employs the highest standards of hygiene and which has created some 100 new employment opportunities, has already secured a number of local markets.
Dube AgriLab already has an Intellectual Property Agreement with the Sugar Cane Research Institute (SCRI) and is working in close co-operation with the SCRI to ensure good crops and high yields for the benefit of KwaZulu-Natal cane farmers. It is also collaborating with role-players in the banana industry.
The laboratory is willing to consider requests from local professional growers and farmers, which would enable Dube AgriLab to maximise its capacity, potentially expanding to produce up to five million plantlets per annum.
