On 27 January the South African minister of Energy, Mr Kgosiento Ramokgopa, and the Dutch vice-minister of Agriculture, Mr Roald Lapperre, officially opened the Grootvlei Horticulture Expertise Facility. Seed2Feed Foundation is coordinating the realisation of this project with Dutch and South African business partners and supporting organizations. The ceremony was hosted by ESKOM and attended by a Dutch delegation, regional authorities and representatives of local communities and businesses. This horticulture training project is initiated by ESKOM and the Dutch Embassy to provide alternative employment, when the coal-powered Grootvlei station will be closed in 2030 in the framework of the Just Energy Transition.
The key facility on the 20-hectare ESKOM site is a high-tech greenhouse of 0,5 ha for training and demonstration of Dutch climate-smart technologies for trainees from the local communities and ESKOM personnel. The greenhouse is now planted with tomatoes and maintained by local personnel under the supervision of EARN Grootvlei Agric Ltd. and partners. The 5ha training centre will also include low- and medium-tech facilities, such as open fields, tunnels, nethouses, a school building and a packhouse for different skill levels and small-scale farming. The practical training courses for professional horticulture and agripreneurship, will start shortly with the first groups of selected candidates. The trainees will be supported to find work as a horticultural professional or entrepreneur.
The remaining 15ha of the ESKOM-terrain will be available for commercial Climate Smart exploitation and solar energy production. The Partners also consider the establishment of a nursery for the production of high quality young plants, to supply the training centre and other customers. Later on, the horticultural value chain in the Grootvlei area may expand to 200 ha. or more, and provide opportunities for sustainable enterprise, job creation, rural income and food for the communities and supermarkets in the region. During this expansion phase, measures will be taken to safeguard the vulnerable wetland environment, ensuring water security and preserving natural values.
