Africa-Press – Botswana. The story behind the success of the citrus project, a multimillion-Pula flagship project in the SPEDU region will not be complete without acknowledging the remarkable efforts and sacrifices of the Mmadinare Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society.
Once a thriving cooperative had back in the days, members of the cooperative took an unprecedented but strategic decision to lease their land for a purpose-driven initiative, aligning with national interests and securing benefits for future generations.
Established in 1971 as a consumer cooperative, Mmadinare Cooperative once stood as a source of pride for the Selebi Phikwe and Mmadinare communities, boasting a successful dairy production venture on the expansive 1720-hectare Mannaesi farm on the outskirts of Selebi Phikwe.
“Our cooperative was one of the best in the country, we packaged milk from our farm and sold to individuals and businesses,” said Mmadinare Multipurpose Cooperative Society chairperson, Mr Motlamorago Gaseitsiwe.
However, the cooperative society faced financial and operational challenges over time, leading to its collapse. Adding to its woes was stiff competition from large retail stores.
“We lacked resources to compete with large retail stores resulting in the ultimate collapse of our cooperative. Most of our assets including Mannaesi farm were left idle and ultimately became dilapidated.”
However, during this turbulent period, SPEDU, an investment promotion company entrusted with spearheading investment promotion and economic diversification in the SPEDU region, stepped in to help the cooperative repurpose its idle farm, which for 18 years had remained inactive.
The company engaged in negotiations with the cooperative to lease 1500 hectares of the Mannaesi farm for the citrus project.
This involved a comprehensive due diligence process, including a visit to South Africa. Eventually, after extensive discussions, the cooperative agreed to lease the farm to the investor.
“The management board and SPEDU conducted due diligence in South Africa, where the investor was involved in a comparable project spanning approximately 800 hectares.”
Spearheading the project, SPEDU played an instrumental role in facilitating the leasing of the Mannaesi farm, collaborating closely with key stakeholders including Selebi Phikwe Town Council, Botswana Investment Trade Centre (BITC), Water Utilities Corporation, and other government departments. Following intensive negotiations, both the cooperative and the investor reached an agreement. The lease agreement is for 38 years.
The leasing of the land was welcomed by other members, as well as the Mmadinare village leadership, as it ensured that the land remained under the control of the Mmadinare Cooperative.
Mr Gaseitsiwe elaborated that Selebi Phikwe Citrus would continue to pay rentals to the cooperative until expiration of the lease.
“Our cooperative is gradually getting back on its feet as we are using the rental fee to pay our outstanding debts.”
In addition to the rentals, Selebi Phikwe Citrus offered the cooperative the opportunity to purchase a 10 per cent stake.
However, the cooperative is currently seeking funding from financiers to acquire these shares. The cooperative plans to diversify its activities by exploring ventures such as juice production, transportation, cafeteria services, security services, and car wash facilities.
He encouraged cooperative members to capitalize on the project to create additional spin-offs.
While SPEDU continued to facilitate the citrus project, the Ministry of Agriculture is currently engaged to acquire protocol and market permits for the produce from the citrus farm which included doing the project portfolio for export markets.
The ministry is also involved to fulfil phytosanitary requirements and putting in place measures to control plant diseases and continues to work with the farm in that regard.
Facilitation by the ministry also included registration of the farm, production units or blocks, pack house as well as compliance with sanitary quality citrus standards and overall pests control.
It also continues to work with the farm for surveillance of pests and diseases, both existing and none existing ones and further monitoring protocols of plants and plant products around the exporting area which include among others, monitoring of movement of seedlings in and out of Selebi Phikwe.
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