Ezulwini- Eswatini’s push to turn traditional African vegetables into a commercial crop is running into a problem that begins after the harvest: how to get fresh produce from scattered farms to supermarket shelves on time.
Commercial farmer Gcina Dlamini of Smiling Through said farmers were ready to increase production of pumpkin leaves, okra and imbuya, but warned that the success of the retail initiative would depend on whether the supply chain could handle the demands of fresh produce.
“Growing the vegetables is one thing,” Dlamini said in an interview at the launch of the Traditional African Vegetables Retail Market and Consumer Promotion Activities at Happy Valley Hotel.
Speaking at the Traditional African Vegetables Retail Market amd Consumer Promotion on Friday, the harder task, he said, was ensuring that produce harvested on farms could be checked, packed and delivered to retailers while it was still fresh.
Dlamini said farmers could not all be expected to transport their own produce to different markets, particularly when the largest volumes of demand were concentrated in places such as Manzini.
“Logistics is very key in fresh produce,” he said, adding that distribution would need to be organised so that farmers could concentrate on production while their produce was consolidated and delivered to different markets.
The proposed system would require produce from different farmers to be collected, quality-checked, packed and distributed to retailers.
For Dlamini, that makes packhouses an important part of the emerging market.
Produce arriving from different farms would not necessarily be of the same quality, he said, making sorting and quality control necessary before it reaches the shelves.
The timing of deliveries is equally important. Dlamini said fresh produce destined for restaurants and retailers needed to reach its market early, meaning distribution could begin in the early hours of the morning.
The challenge is particularly important as the Taiwan-supported TAVI programme moves traditional vegetables into organised retail.
The initial rollout involves selected retail outlets, including SPAR and Boxer, creating a formal market for crops that have largely been sold through informal channels and household consumption.
Dlamini said farmers were prepared to meet the volumes required by the new market, but individual farmers would struggle to maintain supply on their own.
“You need other farmers distributed around to ensure it is on the shelf,” he said.
Dlamini also raised concerns about quality standards and certification.
His farm is GlobalG.A.P. certified, giving it an established system for production and traceability. But he said certification remained expensive for many smallholder farmers.
GlobalG.A.P. requirements can include keeping records of production inputs and tracing produce back to the field where it was grown.
For smaller farmers, Dlamini said, the cost and technical requirements could make certification difficult.
He said larger commercial farmers could therefore play a role in supporting smallholders as they enter formal retail markets, including helping them understand safe chemical use and production practices.
The issue is not only about meeting retailer specifications. It is also about protecting consumers, he noted.
Dlamini said produce needed to be traceable so that if a food-safety problem emerged, it could be traced back to its source.
Dlamini urged retailers to pay farmers on time, saying smallholder producers could not carry the cost of production indefinitely while waiting for payment.
A farmer supplying a supermarket must pay for seed, labour, transport and other production costs before receiving money from the sale.
“For a big farmer, they can survive 30 days, 90 days, but think of the outgrower farmer, smallholder farmer,” he said. “Pay me on time.”
He said payment cycles of about 40 days were already difficult because farmers continued incurring costs every day while maintaining supply.
For smaller farmers who depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, delayed payment can directly affect their ability to buy seed, pay workers and plant the next crop.
Dlamini pointed to regular payment arrangements as one way of making the relationship between farmers and retailers more sustainable.
He described a system where farmers delivering produce several times a week receive payment weekly, allowing them to maintain their operations without having to finance the retailer indefinitely.
The concerns come as TAVI seeks to expand the market for traditional African vegetables by placing packaged pumpkin leaves, okra and imbuya in formal retail outlets.
The initiative has identified significant demand for the crops, but the commercial farmer said meeting that demand would require more than increasing production.
Farmers would need a coordinated system connecting production, quality control, packaging, transport and payment.
Dlamini said farmers had already received support to establish production, including initial seed supplied through the programme.
He said the crops were now growing well and farmers were ready to increase volumes.
The next challenge, he said, was maintaining consistency.
Traditional vegetables cannot become a reliable retail product if farmers can supply only when they happen to have a harvest. Retailers need predictable volumes, while farmers need predictable markets and cash flow.
Dlamini said collaboration among farmers would therefore be necessary to keep produce available on shelves.
He also called for continued support for smallholder farmers as they enter formal markets, particularly because many cannot immediately afford the same certification systems used by larger commercial farms.
The TAVI initiative is supported by the Republic of China (Taiwan), with the retail campaign seeking to increase both consumer awareness and market opportunities for traditional African vegetables.
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