HIGH EXPORT DEMAND FOR BABY VEGGIES

MATSAPHA – There is a high export demand for the production of high value crops (baby vegetables) and farmers should take advantage of the opportunity.

The National Agricultural Marketing Board (NamBoard) yesterday hosted the second horticulture innovation platform aimed at linking farmers with markets both internal and external. NamBoard said farmers should substitute imports with local production by focusing on priority commodities like cabbage, spinach and lettuce. Others include potatoes, onion and carrot. NamBoard Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Bhekizwe Maziya said one of the challenges facing Smallholder Horticulture farmers was the inability to access both local and export markets. He said on the other hand, markets had a huge unsatisfied demand for sustainable supply of produce by local farmers and it was impossible for one farmer to sustainably satisfy this market gap.

“It requires a well-coordinated collaborative effort by a number of committed farmers. Alternatively, if farmers are not able to aggregate among themselves to bridge this gap, it then presents another business opportunity for traders to aggregate the farmers produce to supply the markets.
“It has always disheartened farmers to sell a cabbage head to NAMBoard at E8.00 and find their cabbage at the supermarkets selling for E15.00,” he said.

Observations

The CEO added that it had been one of their observations that most of their farmers were producing on very small scales of less than 1ha. He said such small-scale farming deprives farmers of the benefits of economies of scale. As a result, their profit margins remain very low and any negative price adjustment renders their productivity non-profitable. The Eswatini Water and Agricultural Development (ESWADE) CEO Sam Sithole added that ESWADE, through the Smallholder Market-led Project (SMLP), was very particular and supportive of farmers’ markets. He said farmers’ markets were an important and valuable resource for their work.

“I am quite encouraged by the saying which goes, ‘The war on drugs brought in more drugs, and the war on terrorists created more terrorists, so maybe now it is time for a war on farmers’ markets’, and who knows this could be our breakthrough to create more vegetables and fruits markets for our farmers,” he said.Sithole also mentioned that with particular notice, deliberations were inclined to access to better prices for horticultural produce to balance the hikes in production costs. “It goes without saying that the outcry was taken very seriously by some of the market players such that positive price improvements were realised and the Horticulture Input subsidy was conceived,” added the CEO. He said in an effort to incentivise farmers to upscale production, they were quite encouraged when they learnt that NAMBoard increased the minimum farmer off-take prices just some two weeks post the last innovation platform.

Mentioned

The Minister of Agriculture, Jabulani Mabuza, mentioned that access to lucrative and reliable markets was one of the key factors that contribute to the success of smallholder farmers, especially those in remote rural areas. “This meeting links very well with the government’s mandate to achieve and maintain an efficient and sustainable agricultural sector that will ensure national and household food security,” he said.Mabuza mentioned that market access was also very important to the strengthening of food and nutrition security because it boosted productivity and increased income which in turn contributed to the reduction of poverty and hunger.

He said the ministry supports and appreciates all initiatives that contribute towards improving the livelihoods of emaswati, in particular farmers.
“The Ministry of Agriculture, in its 2018- 2023 Strategy plan, pledged to transform agriculture into a modernised, sustainable and export-oriented sector that contributes to improved food security and overall economic development (among other objectives). “With agriculture as the mainstay of Eswatini economy, as well as the importance of the sector in addressing food security of the country, we cannot afford to rest while this critical sector suffers.  As we deliberate today, I urge you to come up with new strategies.

“We need to keep farming as a viable enterprise, therefore, let us all put on our thinking hats and devise new innovations that can be used to link local small-scale farmers with domestic and export markets,” he added. Mabuza also mentioned that government adopted an economic recovery strategy whose pillars included strong private sector participation and promotion of export trade.

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