According to Botswana's Minister of Agriculture, Mr Patrick Ralotsia, the Napro- horticulture produce processing plant in Selebi Phikwe has the potential to stimulate the agriculture sector in the region, create employment and have a positive impact on economic diversification. The plant produces food stuffs like tomato sauce and pickled and dried vegetables
He said that since a market for horticulture produce will be readily available at the plant, more Batswana will be encouraged to engage in horticulture thereby contributing to the growth of agriculture and food security in the country.
He urged Batswana to take agriculture seriously to produce food for the country, noting that currently the country imports about P1 billion worth of food annually.
Meanwhile Dr Martin Kebakile from Napro said government injected capital into the development of the plant. He said the plant serves as a tool geared towards promoting and achieving sustainable agriculture and food security. He said there is need for more horticulture research and adoption of new technologies in the agriculture sector to produce good quality products at a large scale.
For his part the Operations Manager at Napro Mr Ramogoma Kaisara said the processing plant has the capacity to process 3000kg of pickle plant per shift and up to 60,000kg per month. He also indicated that the plant has potential to process 2100kgs of tomatoes per shift and 42,000kg per month.
He said their intention is for the Napro products to hit the shelves of retailers by September.
