Chicken production in South Africa’s Limpopo province has been boosted by the opening of a new hatchery in Makhado/Louis Trichardt.
The modern new facility can produce 280 000 quality day-old-chicks per week. Northroost Hatchery is a joint venture between local Makhado entrepreneur Clive Tigere, Country Bird Holdings (CBH) and Bushvalley Chicken.
“This is a game changer for broiler farmers in Limpopo who have never before had access to such consistent volumes of high quality day-old chicks,” said Tigere at the opening ceremony. “The local economy will benefit, more jobs can be created and the informal market can grow.”
CBH’s Brendon de Boer explains the partnership: “CBH supplies the fertilised Arbor Acre eggs, Clive oversees the hatching process and Bushvalley takes a significant percentage of the day-old chicks.”
The modern facility was built and fitted out with an investment of R56 million. CBH and Bushvalley provided bridging finance until Tigere’s loan from the Industrial Development Corporation came through.
Tigere said Limpopo poultry farmers would now be spared the high transport costs involved in bringing in chicks from hundreds of kilometre away.
“As their costs go down, they can become more competitive, grow their businesses and create more jobs, and we will see this positive response circling further and further.”
Tigere said the government should note the job-creation potential of the informal poultry industry.
“It represents so much opportunity for growth and wealth creation in many areas of the country where there are few other job opportunities,” he said.
