Adam Hartman
14 May 2008
Windhoek — BY March next year, Karibib could be Namibia's main chicken producer: one of the biggest poultry suppliers in southern Africa, Ross Africa, intends to develop a N$150 million hatchery and abattoir there.
Ross Africa is a subsidiary of South Africa's JSE-listed Country Bird Holdings.
Namibia currently imports nearly all of its chicken, but the new producer, Supreme Poultry Namibia (SPN), wants to become the sole source of fresh chicken products locally, cutting out imports entirely.
SPN General Manager Japie Janse van Rensburg told The Namibian that the operation would include a hatchery on a NamWater-owned farm about 15 km north of Karibib, and an abattoir in the town.
He said the initiative was driven by an invitation by the Namibian Government to exploit the potential of local poultry production.
According to the Environmental Impact Assessment report by Enviro Dynamics, the hatchery would include 28 sheds of 112 metres by 12 metres each, making it the biggest poultry production operation in Namibia.
It was noted at a public meeting at Karibib on Thursday that there had been attempts before to establish poultry production ventures, which failed.
It was Ross Africa's capacity and experience that "guaranteed" the venture from taking off, it was said.
According to Janse van Rensburg, about 20 000 chickens (of about 38 days old) will be slaughtered and packaged at the abattoir per day.
These will be distributed throughout Namibia, relieving the country of its dependence on imported chicken.
About 5 million birds per year would be processed, he said.
"This might seem very big for Namibia, but in international terms it's relatively small.
For instance, in SA we're processing up to 1,4 million birds in a week," he said.
Asked if the price of local chicken would be lower than import prices, Janse van Rensburg said that could not be guaranteed, as production and supply would still be affected by fodder and fuel prices.
He said initially all the eggs would be imported from SA and hatched in Namibia.
The fodder will also be imported initially.
About 250 people will be employed in the venture, most being Namibians who will be trained in the business, he said.
While the general response at the meeting was considered positive, there were concerns about the location of the abattoir, according to Enviro Dynamics' Stephanie van Zyl.
The issue of water was also a challenge, especially with regard to wastewater management.
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