A macadamia farm near Louis Trichardt, in Limpopo, has joined hands with a private funding entity to educate aspiring farmers about the dynamics and benefits of cultivating macadamia.
South Africa is one of the world’s largest producers of the nuts and more young people are tapping into the market.
The macadamia nut is a lucrative agricultural product. Its high input and operational costs have however been a stumbling block for emerging farmers. The Madimbo Farm in Mashau, near Ellim in Louis Trichardt, is giving locals an opportunity to learn to grow and care for macadamia nut trees.
Macadamia farming expert, Gene Likhanya says there is a need for guidance.
“Alot of people need the guidance – seeing visually how a macadamia farm looks like, how things are from the irrigation, getting to see the farm, getting to see the tree,” says Likhanya.
“More importantly for them to see that any land can be used as long as you can plant something and take care of it,” adds Likhanya.
The 88 hectare Madimbo farm employs over 30 people. It currently sells its produce to local markets.
Funding entity Livestock Wealth is throwing its weight behind the project. Livestock Wealth’s Chief Executive Officer, Ntutuko Shezi says a lot of resources are required to grow macadamia nut trees.
“Growing macadamia is expensive, it takes six years for the tree to grow that means the farmer needs six years wages, fuel, etc. That is where we come in – allowing private investors to own one of these trees. We buy it from the farmer and six years later the farmers buy it back from us at a profit,” says Shezi.
Local people have expressed keen interest in exploiting the long-term benefits of macadamia farming.
“We are here to learn about how to plant macadamia and how to grow it. Macadamia is something that we should learn especially us black people. We did not know about it but on a daily basis we are learning,”says one of the local people.
