5 March 2003
The Northern Cape government launched a R55-million paprika factory in Springbok, Namaqualand on Thursday.
The factory’s core business will be the production of paprika spice and paprika oleoresin (concentrated) for export to Europe, the US, Mexico, the Far East and Middle East.
The provincial government has invested R17-million (a 25% shareholding) in the factory on behalf of the emerging farmers in the Goodhouse area, while Haymake Investments and Gili Greenworld, who are the project developers and managers, have invested R38-million.
“The corporation is made up of 55 small-scale black farmers who have received grants from the Land Redistribution Agricultural Development scheme as well as loans from the Department of Land Affairs and the Land Bank”, said Thabo Mothibi, spokesman for the province’s agriculture department.
The raw material for the factory – 2 000 tons of paprika – will be supplied by the emerging Goodhouse Agricultural Corporation.
Each beneficiary has been allocated 10 hectares to cultivate paprika, while a total of 550 hectares of irrigational land will be developed for this purpose along the banks of the Orange River.
About 78 permanent jobs will be created at the factory, Mothibi said, adding that the small-scale farmers’ shareholding in the factory will help reduce unemployment among the Goodhouse and Steinkopft communities.
Source: BuaNews
