Bumper date crop at Eersbegin - Namibia Development Corporation

6| INFORMANTÉ
AGRICULTURE
14 March - 20 March 2013
Bumper date crop at Eersbegin
WHILE dust settles over drought-stricken
Namibia, date palms are blooming and business
is booming at the country’s first date farm
Eersbegin.
Situated 90km west of Khorixas, the Namibia
Development Corporation (NDC) run project
recorded its biggest harvest of 35 tonnes of medjool
dates during the last financial year, since its inception
in the late 1970’s.
Before the 2013 bumper harvest, the projects’
highest-ever recorded harvest stood at 16 and 20
tonnes respectively during the 2011 and 2012
financial years.
Namibia’s semi-arid environment is ideal for date
farming as it does not require huge amounts of water
to be sustainable. The irrigated 40 hectare farm
Eersbegin is currently home to 2 300 date palms,
of which 1 400 are in full production, while 200 are
First and oldest Structure on the farm.
Eersbegin worker Amos /Nuab, Wessel !Nanuseb
of NDC and project manger Jacques Joubert
currently in a semi-productive state due to the
high alkaline levels in the soil.
According to project manager Jacques Joubert,
the Eersbegin date farm was created following the
implementation of the notorious Odendaal Plan
and began experimenting with mixed medjool
and barhee date palms.
The project, however, never really kicked-off,
because the mixed palm tree crop planted at the
time did not adapt well to the surroundings to
produce fruit.
Medjool dates are more economical to farm as
they can be stored for close to a year and still be
marketable, while barhee dates are fragile and are
usually marketed within 3 weeks of harvesting.
When planted young, date palm trees take about
7 years to produce any marketable date fruits.
With the introduction of medjool dates after the
advent of independence, Joubert said, the projects
biggest challenge comes into play when heavy
rainfall occurs. “Rain is bad for date farming. The
water brings large numbers of insects and other
parasites that destroy the dates. The more rain we
receive the more dates we lose.”
He said the project records good harvests with
an annual rainfall of about 140mm, and below
par harvests when the precipitation exceeds more
than 350mm.
Yearly harvesting at Eersbegin usually
commences at the end of February, throughout
March and ends in April. After picking, the dates
are transported to Khorixas were they are sorted
and stored while waiting to be exported to Europe
and Middle Eastern countries.
The project’s development has, and continues to
benefit the community in areas of desertification
control, crop diversification, and direct
employment possibilities. There are 12 permanent
staff with a reinforcement of 20 additional casual
workers during harvesting. “Although small,
Eersbegin is significant in the development of the
date industry in Namibia. It is the first date farm
in the country, and was instrumental in assisting
with the creation of the biggest date farm in
Namibia,” Joubert concluded, while referring to
the 480 barhee trees from Eersbegin that were
replanted at Naute date farm in 2011.
Jacques Joubert and Amos /Nuab
These are the workers who ensured a good harvest