Arda turns to horticultural production for revenue growth
REVAMPED Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (Arda) Jotsholo Estate is looking forward to improving its revenues through embarking on extensive horticultural production.
Arda Jotsholo manager, Mr Ndodana Ncube, said there has been a massive improvement in cereals production since the farm engaged in a private public partnership with Jopa Investments (Private) Limited early last year.
The estate attained an average of eight tonnes per hectare from last season’s 150 hectares of wheat while harvesting of the 360 ha of the summer maize grown under the Command Agriculture programme was nearing completion.
“The coming in of the investor at Arda Jotsholo has seen us invest much on cereals like wheat and maize. The first crop was wheat in 2016 where we had an average of eight tonnes per hectare. We are about to complete harvesting summer maize. We are averaging eight to nine tonnes per hectare in some sections of the estate so we have done well,” said Mr Ncube.
Last year the institution started marketing and selling its cabbage and tomatoes within the district.
“We did establish 10ha of potato and we are harvesting now. In the first hectare we harvested 40 tonnes sellable and we are looking forward to even going to 50 tonnes per hectare. That’s going to be our cash crop. We are going to keep on establishing 20 to 25 hectares at any given time so that at any given time we have something that is bringing income.
“We have also started tomatoes that we are marketing. In the first hectare of tomatoes we got a total yield of 60 tonnes.
“We will keep on increasing the hectarage to be put under tomatoes and that’s what we are doing on the horticultural crops. Those (potatoes and tomatoes) are the two major cash crops that we are doing,” said Mr Ncube.
The manager of the potato section, Mr Sindiso Mlalazi, expressed satisfaction at the yield obtained from the first hectare.
“I’m very happy with this yield of 40 tonnes and I’m sure we will realise a rise to an average of 45 tonnes when we harvest the other blocks since we have only harvested a hectare out of 10 hectares.
“The crop was planted in February at a time the entire country was experiencing torrential rains and as a result germination was affected by water logging but we managed the situation in terms of crop management to get this yield,” said Mr Mlalazi.
The estate’s winter wheat cropped under the Government’s Specialised Agricultural Programme is at tilling and germination stage.
“We have established wheat under (centre) pivots. We have eight pivots each commanding 25 hectares and we have put different wheat varieties but all of them are Seed-Co varieties. The crop is looking good and we are targeting 10 tonnes per hectare this year,” said Mr Ncube.— @DNsingo.