A pilot nursery project set up by the Oranjemund Town Transformation Agency (OMDis) is in the process of becoming a fully-fledged commercial production unit.

OMDis was established in 2019 to build the town's economic resilience, transcending its historic reliance on mining activities.

Tommy West, the agriculture manager at the nursery, says that the first cultivation of about 2,000 heads of seedlings per week has already taken place, which is an indication of the project's commercial value.

"Agriculture has been identified as one of the economic activities to be developed in Oranjemund to make the town less dependent on the diamond mining industry. The lower part of the Orange River does not really have any significant agricultural activities on the Namibian side, but on the South African side, it is a very different story, but we hope to get more land available. Once we reach full capacity in this area, which we are currently cultivating, we would like to expand and become a very big producer of fresh produce." 

A number of other crops are also grown at the three-hector nursery. West says that their intention is to use more natural and organic fertilisers to grow the crops. 

"This unit used to make use of chemical fertilisers only, but we have in the meantime started changing to a more organic approach because most of the planting is done in net tunnels or net houses. We are concentrating on the more high-value crops at the moment, those being tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, broccoli, and cauliflower, and outside of these net structures we also plant a lot of chilies and onions." 

Most of the produce at the nursery is sold to residents of Oranjemund and local businesses, while plans are also underway to sell to towns as far as Keetmanshoop.