Local brewing outfit, Kgalagadi Breweries Limited (KBL), says it will be piloting a new project in 2010 that will transform farming from subsistence to commercial.
Hloni Matsela, the Group Managing Director for KBL, has explained that the move will also help budding young farmers who are receiving funding from government to start farming businesses.
“Through project Thusanang, we endeavor to increase the overall grain output for the country by encouraging farmers to produce over and above their regular production levels”, said Matsela.
“The idea is to source KBL raw materials locally,” he added.
KBL says the project is a desire is to source grain input requirements locally in a bid to drive the import substitution agenda on another front as a private sector initiative.
“By this we would be further developing entrepreneurship and enhancing capability and, hopefully through this we should be able to set some of our subsistence farmers on a new platform of commercial farming”.
Kgalagadi Breweries (Pty) Limited and Botswana Breweries (Pty) Limited operate four traditional beer breweries, a clear beer brewery, a soft drinks production plant and six sales and distribution depots.
Clear beer requires properly prepared cereal grain, usually barley and corn or rice, hops pure water, and brewer’s yeast.
On the other hand, traditional beer or Chibuku requires raw materials like sorghum that will be available locally.
Matsela’s revelations come at a time when there are cries that companies are not supporting local farmers especially the South African chain stores that import that supply from that country.
However, Matsela warned that this new pilot project will require commitment for it to succeed.
“Even as this new initiative presents additional opportunities for the future, it goes without saying that, all these require the usual effort and unwavering commitment, to succeed”, he warned.
“It is our hope that the youth, on whose behalf we gather at tonight’s function, will not hesitate to grab the opportunity, with both hands”.
