20 March 2008
The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) has given the Northern Cape goat farming industry a R15-million capital injection, to help transform local herders into commercial farmers.
Unveiling the Goat Commercialisation Programme in Grobblershoop on Tuesday, Northern Cape Premier Dipuo Peters said the joint initiative between the IDC, the Department of Agriculture and the Kalahari Kid Corporation would enable locals to engage more actively in the economy.
“Today’s launch is a moment in which we are saying the playing fields for the diversification of the province’s goat farming are being levelled,” Peters said. “Our emergent goat farmers now have the opportunity to capture their share of the spoils in the goat value-chain.”
She added that the programme would expand the goat population in the province beyond the current 700 000, helping to develop the live goat market, increase supply of meat to retailers and allow for the further processing of goat meat for exporting and goatskin for leather.
The agriculture department, through Kalahari Kid Corporation, has to date procured 2 000 goats for the two production farms and a further 900 goats from individual emerging farmers and cooperatives.
Peters explained that Kalahari Kid had in turn partnered with LAW Abattoir, an European Union approved abattoir, for the slaughtering and processing of goats for both national and international markets.
“These two entities will ensure that all offshore and local logistics that include traceability of the product are met,” she said.
The department also donated a total of 300 female goats and nine bucks to three cooperatives, including Kagisanong Women Dipudi in Kuruman, Britstown Small Farmers and Chevon Youth in Globblershoop.
To ensuring that the province meets the required demands of the local and international markets, two farms in Rooisand and Boegoeberg have been acquired at a cost of R19-million to be used as production farms.
Since 2003 the department has spent an average of R6-million per year on commercialising goat farming.
“The intervention of this programme encapsulates research, training, marketing, traceability and production that speaks into the immediate objectives of Asgi-SA and the provincial growth and development strategy,” she said.
Asgi-SA – the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa – seeks to halve unemployment and poverty in the country by 2014, and increase economic growth to 6%.
SAinfo reporter and BuaNews
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