POLOKWANE – Local entrepreneur Clive Tigere said the opening of the Northroost Hatchery is a game changer for broiler farmers in limpopo.

The hatchery was recently opened in Louis Trichardt and the modern facility can produce 208 000-day-old chicks per week.

The hatchery is a joint venture by Tigere of KC Hatchery, Country Bird Holdings (CBH) and Bushvalley Chicken.

“Some of these farmers have never had access to consistent volumes of high-quality day-old chicks before and the local economy will benefit. More jobs can be created and the informal market can grow,” he said.

Brendon de Boer from CBH explained that CBH will supply fertilized Arbor Acre eggs, KC Hatchery will oversee the hatching process and Bushvalley will take a percentage of the day-old chicks.

Northroost’s first batch of fertilized eggs were sent on August 24 and hatched on September 14, setting in motion a cycle in which two batches a week are hatched, several days apart. So far, Tigere has maintained a hatch ratio of over 90%.

The joint venture was the result of a meeting five years ago when Tigere had approached the South African Poultry Association for help with a research project. Tigere noted the negative effect dumped chicken had on the informal poultry industry.

Finding enough fertilized eggs of reliable quality was a constant battle for Tigere and when CBH offered to supply as many as he needed, he jumped at the chance.

“This steady supply of high-quality eggs completely changed our business. Having better eggs meant a more predictable, higher hatch rate, and now KC Hatchery could commit to clients with a steady supply of chicks that allowed allowing them to have a business all year round,” Tigere said.

De Boer says they believe that more projects like this is needed.

“This project is a collaboration between government, integrated producers and local entrepreneurs. There is a challenge in finding solid projects with real potential in outlying areas. I hope we can find more projects such as Northroost, all along the poultry value chain from hatcheries to processing, where local businesspeople with potential can be upskilled and supported.”

The facility was built and kitted out through an investment of R56m and was constructed with expansion in mind. The infrastructure will be adapted in future to double its current capacity and state-of-the-art hatchery equipment was imported, water reservoirs built and generators installed to keep the systems going in the event of power outages.

“Northroost ticks all the boxes for us. It is a good business opportunity as it allows us to contribute to industry transformation and it fills a gap for poultry producers in Limpopo,” CEO of Bushvalley, Ian Preece said.

Tigere adds that farmers from Limpopo can now raise high-quality chicks efficiently, without the high transport costs.

“As their costs go down, they can become more competitive, grow their businesses, and create more jobs, and we will see this positive response circling further and further.”