Namibian citrus growers join southern African counterparts

Namibian citrus farmers have joined the Citrus Growers’ Association of Southern Africa (CGA), which represents more than 1 560 growers from South Africa, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Botswana.

This was announced by the CGA to commemorate Africa Day and this year’s theme of accelerating the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement and deepening economic integration across the continent.

Justin Chadwick, the chief executive officer of the CGA, told online agronomic publication Fresh Plaza: “We are happy our Namibian neighbours have become a member of our southern African organisation, following Botswana in joining the CGA towards the end of last year.

“The CGA and its Grower Development Company remain committed to unlocking the potential of all citrus farmers in the region and ensuring we remain one of the top exporters of quality citrus in the world.”

According to Fresh Plaza, the burgeoning citrus industry in Namibia has tremendous potential.

“While the citrus yield is still relatively small, with just under 500 tonnes delivered in 2022, Namibian growers have mapped out a 10-year plan for expansion, with the aim of farming 10 000 hectares of citrus, creating 60 000 job opportunities by 2033,” the publication said.

To achieve this, the growers planted just over 100 000 new citrus trees last year alone, said Fresh Plaza, adding that farmers in the north of the country are also excited about export plans they are making for their region.

“We are a country with many opportunities. It is in our interest to associate with the ‘big elephants’ such as the CGA to further our strategy to become a citrus-growing nation,” says André Neethling from Citrus Namibia, who is also a farmer from the Tsumeb area in northern Namibia.

“We respect the experience and knowledge of the CGA and are confident being a member of the organisation will help attain our goals,” he says.

According to FreshPlaza, the CGA now provides Namibian growers assistance with increasing market access, research and technical support, logistics coordination and supplying growers with relevant information to make informed decisions.

“Through sharing our knowledge and assisting one another we can grow together and contribute to the economic health of our region. The CGA also looks forward to enlarging our footprint to other African countries in the near future and contributing towards positioning Africa as an economic competitor globally,” Chadwick says.
– email: matthew@namibian.com.na