The Beit Bridge Rural District Council, in partnership with Cesvi, an Italian non-governmental organisation, has planted 5 000 citrus trees at the Shashe irrigation scheme, in a move that is set to boost the economy of the border town.

The massive community project is being funded by the European Union through Cesvi to the tune of US$1 million.

Beit Bridge Rural District Council’s chief executive officer, Mr Albert Mbedzi, told Limpopo Mirror that the trees were planted last week. The first phase of the project was launched last year.

“So far, we have developed infrastructure in the form of five boreholes, a training centre and we have also installed a new transformer and a pressure booster pump. We have also erected two ultra-high centre pivots, which are used to water the trees,” he said.

A demonstration plot where 600 trees were planted as part of the local community-training project has since been set up.

Mbedzi said the community training centre would provide farmers with key knowledge on citrus management and marketing skills. “We primarily launched the project as a way of alleviating poverty at the Maramani area and the entire rural community in the district. We intend to plant 10 000 more trees, but since citrus tree take about five years to mature, we are also pumping water for crop farming to ensure food security since Beit Bridge is a drought-prone district,” he said.

Mbedzi said although Beit Bridge was a dry area characterised by a low rainfall pattern, commercial citrus farming had proved to be a success in the district over the years. “Our dream is to stop the exodus of young and energetic people who continue to stream to neighbouring South Africa to look for jobs on the farms. As part of our five-year strategic plan, we are encouraging individual households to plant citrus trees and produce their own oranges since our climatic conditions favour that,” he said.

Mbedzi said the project was the first of its kind in the SADC region. “We want to promote citrus farming in Beit Bridge. We want to produce oranges at a large commercial scale and create more jobs for our people,” he said.

Mbedzi said they had since cleared 45 hectares of land in an area adjacent the crop site of the Shashe Irrigation Scheme, adding that they intended to clear another 60 hectares of land under the first phase.

According to a baseline survey, which was conducted by Cesvi, a total of 300 households around the Maramani area will benefit from the scheme. “We hope to finish the project in four years' time as it takes at least five years for an orange tree to be productive and between eight and 10 years for it to be fully grown. CESVI is in the process of training farmers, so that they are able to sustain the project after its completion,” he said.

The Shashe irrigation scheme is the largest in the district, with a total of 120 hectares of land.