Photo: Agricultural Produce Agents Council
Earlier this month, Mpumalanga premier Mandla Ndlovu gave Khethiwe Moeketsi, the incumbent MEC for the Mpumalanga Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs (DARDLEA), two weeks to get the market up and running. This placed the opening date on Friday, 1 August.
However, a source inside the DARDLEA said the opening date was still unconfirmed but would “definitely not be Friday”.
The Mpumalanga government has stated that the market would “boost economic spin-offs for the province, attract investments even from neighbouring countries, and create more job opportunities, empowering locals and women in particular”.
Agriculture sector leaders have, however, continuously questioned the need for, size, and high cost of the market. Sources told Farmer’s Weekly that this was especially since the area surrounding the market did not produce high volumes of vegetables.
“Most of the fruit produced in the province is exported and does not require the services of a local fresh produce market. Government has also stated that since Mpumalanga is the largest producer of macadamia nuts, the market will be an important sales point for the nuts. But macadamias are sent to processors and exporters in the province. Over 95% of macadamias are exported and not traded locally,” one source said.
Tersia Marshall, DA spokesperson for the DARDLEA, said the market was “a multibillion-rand piece of nothing. It’s not going to help Mpumalanga; it’s going to be another white elephant”.
She added that the MIFPM was built to provide a market for produce grown in government-supported agrihubs around the province.
“But the hubs have never been functional. The farmers have not been given the skills or the tools to farm and can’t produce anything. We’ve witnessed farmers buying produce from Makro to supply to their markets,” she explained.
Marshall said that for a market of this size to work, high volumes of produce were consistently needed.
“You can’t operate when you have a handful of emerging farmers supplying a few bunches of spinach every other week.”
The market has been plagued by various issues since its inception, which have led to the delay in opening. Marshall explained that the DARDLEA failed to pay the municipal account for utilities, resulting in the City of Mbombela disconnecting the market’s electricity supply.
“The market has now formed an arrangement with the adjacent land owners to supply them with electricity.
“When the property for the market was bought, the water rights were not transferred. This needs to be done in all instances where property is bought with water rights, but they didn’t seem to realise this when we pointed it out at the start of the year,” she concluded.
The DARDLEA had not responded to Farmer’s Weekly’s request for comment by the time this story was published.
