Online Reporter
Thupeyo Muleya, [email protected]
THE Second Republic’s rural industrialisation agenda is gaining momentum in Beitbridge District, where a more than US$40 million citrus production and processing project is creating employment, promoting value addition and transforming rural livelihoods.
The expansion of Orange Ville Trading’s operations has positioned the district as an emerging citrus production and agro-processing hub, with Government seeking to replicate the model across neighbouring farms and other parts of the country.
The project, which spans nearly 1 500 hectares of citrus plantations, currently employs more than 400 people and is projected to create about 2 000 direct jobs when fully operational.
Lands and Rural Development Minister Vangelis Haritatos, who toured the project at the weekend, said the investment was a practical demonstration of President Mnangagwa’s vision of taking industrialisation into rural communities. The minister said he was impressed by the scale of growth achieved since his previous visit in September last year.
“To our surprise, they’ve actually increased the enterprise. They’ve increased investment. What we’re looking at is the pure definition of rural development and rural industrialisation under the Second Republic,” he said.
Orange Ville processes citrus fruit into value-added products, including juice, while plans are underway to utilise orange peels in the manufacture of animal feed.
Minister Haritatos said the project demonstrated how rural communities could benefit when agricultural production was linked to processing and market access.
“What we are seeing are factories now moving away from cities, which is what it used to be, to actually coming into rural areas. This is exactly what we’re looking at, enterprises transforming our country and taking us to what the President wants, which is Vision 2030 and the upliftment of livelihoods,” he said.
Beitbridge’s favourable climate and access to water have created an enabling environment for citrus production, with Orange Ville investing in additional dams to strengthen water security for its expanding plantations.
“This district of Beitbridge is showing us that citrus is thriving. Great climate, abundance of water,” Minister Haritatos said.
He said Government wanted surrounding farms to supply fruit to the processing plant, creating an integrated citrus value chain and positioning Beitbridge as a major horticultural production centre.
“We want to mimic what we see here to other properties around the area so that we make this a hub and allow other properties to feed into this juice plant. This is the value addition and beneficiation that His Excellency, President Mnangagwa has been talking about,” he said.
Beyond employment creation, the project is contributing to food security and household incomes while generating opportunities in horticulture, logistics, agro-processing and related industries.
Minister Haritatos also commended Orange Ville for investing in employees’ welfare through the
provision of housing, running water and electricity, as well as allowing workers to grow vegetables.
“We are really encouraged. Through specialisation, provinces should grow what they can grow best.
This is an epitome of an enterprise that we want to see more and more of in Zimbabwe,” he said.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Lands and Rural Development, Dr Prosper Matondi, said Orange Ville represented the type of integrated rural investment Government wanted replicated across the country.
“This citrus project is not just about producing fruit. It is about value addition, job creation, and transforming rural livelihoods. From the orchards to the processing plant, you can see innovation at work,” he said.
“Oranges are being turned into juice and other products and even by-products like peels are being considered for animal feed. That is efficiency and that is the future of agriculture.”
Dr Matondi said the project was also improving the quality of life of workers and their families, adding that the ministry would support similar investments in other districts.
“If we spread this kind of investment across all provinces, we will significantly grow our horticulture sector, increase exports, and contribute meaningfully to national GDP as we work towards Vision 2030,” he said.
Briefing the ministerial delegation, Orange Ville Trading (Pvt) Ltd managing director Mr Brandon Park said the company was positioning Beitbridge as a regional citrus processing and value-addition centre.
He said Orange Ville was established in 2024 following an investment of more than US$43 million, with its modern processing facility commissioned in 2025.
The company is now an authorised supplier to Coca-Cola Schweppes Zimbabwe under the Mazoe Crush programme.
Mr Park said the company’s integrated value chain encompassed nurseries, orchards, harvesting, logistics and processing.
“This model supports agricultural growth, exports and sustainable employment. We are also expanding to approximately 2 000 hectares of citrus and adding a peel processing facility and
bottling plant to create additional value-added products and more jobs,” he said.
The expansion is expected to deepen local value chains, increase beneficiation and strengthen Beitbridge’s position within Zimbabwe’s horticultural and agro-processing sector.
