Online Reporter
Thupeyo Muleya Beitbridge Bureau
LANDS and Rural Development Minister Vangelis Haritatos has hailed the expansion of a citrus project in Beitbridge as a model for rural industrialisation and value addition in line with President Mnangagwa’s Vision 2030.
Minister Haritatos, who was also acting as Industry and Commerce Minister, made the remarks on Saturday after touring the Orangeville Trading citrus project in Beitbridge.
He said he was impressed by the expansion of the enterprise since his last visit in September last year, describing it as an example of how investment could transform rural communities.
“We are in Beitbridge right close to the border visiting a company called Orangeville Trading,” said Minister Haritatos.
“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.”
The project spans nearly 1 500 hectares of citrus plantations and is continuing to expand.
The enterprise processes citrus into value-added products, including juice, while exploring the use of orange peels as animal feed.
It currently employs close to 400 people.
Minister Haritatos said the development demonstrated the Government’s drive to decentralise industrial activity from urban centres into rural areas.
“What we are seeing is 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.
He said Beitbridge’s climate and water resources provided favourable conditions for citrus production, with the company investing in additional dams to increase its water storage capacity.
“This district of Beitbridge is showing us that citrus is thriving. Great climate, abundance of water,” he said.
Minister Haritatos said Government wanted the model replicated across the district, with other farmers supplying the processing plant and contributing to the development of a citrus value chain.
“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 has been talking about,” he said.
The minister said the project was contributing to food security, employment creation and the growth of the horticulture sector in Matabeleland South while also supporting the national economy.
He also commended the company for investing in workers’ welfare through the provision of modern housing, running water and electricity.
Workers have also been provided with opportunities to grow their own vegetables, further supporting household food security.
“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.
The Ministry said it would work with local authorities and other farmers in Beitbridge to replicate the model and position the district as a citrus production and agro-processing hub targeting both domestic and export markets.
