In the midst of thick bushveld in one of the country’s most beautiful regions, with the soft rustle of the Kavango River in the distance, the team at Mashare Irrigation, now Mashare Agri Group, saw endless potential. They envisioned a world-class irrigation farm that would provide work to the local community and infinite promise for the whole of Namibia. 

Mashare Agri is named after the nearby village whose inhabitants, alongside other neighbouring communities, have become part and parcel of the farm and its activities. Initially, Mashare was developed by the government as an estate geared to produce maize, wheat and other cash crops; produce that makes up the majority of local sustenance. In mid-2018, the team started planning its expansion into export-oriented, job-creating permanent crops. The result of the last four years’ hard work, infrastructure and capacity building is redefining Namibia’s agriculture and the economy at large. 

In search of the ideal crop to expand the farm with, the team did extensive research on the soil and environment of Mashare. The Kavango Region is not necessarily well-suited to just any kind of crop. After exploring multiple options, all signs pointed to a crop that could grow without much soil manipulation, supply international market needs and serve these markets before the rest of the world’s crops come to fruition. Everything pointed to the humble blueberry. The fundamental research indicated that with the right management and genetics basis, the blueberries could thrive in the Kavango’s more acidic soil and use less water, which is sourced from the abundant Kavango River, than a maize farm of this magnitude would.

Before the blueberries could come about, the groundwork had to be done. An initial 20 hectares of land was prepared by creating soil ridges, laying down irrigation pipes, and covering the expanse with white nets. The first batch of blueberry plants were imported from Spain and carefully planted in the ridges. Over the next couple of months these little plants were tended to with the utmost care and attention – after all, it was still a very expensive proof of concept at this point. In early 2020, white blossoms began forming in the sea of green. Next came the absolutely essential role of the mighty bee, without whose pollination blueberries and infinite other plants cannot carry fruit to their full potential.

Solitary bees that exist naturally in the oasis of the Kavango make no honey, live in tiny holes, and do the pollination work of almost 100 honey bees. Yet, even if all the solitary bees in the area flocked to Mashare, they could not possibly pollinate all the blueberries. Honey bees are therefore hired, arriving in state-of-the-art hives, and are periodically rotated to other farms. While blueberries have plenty of benefits for humans, honey bees cannot live off the fruit alone.

In preparation for the rapidly growing berry plants, planning started for a state-of-the-art packhouse. As with many other fruit and vegetable production sites, in order for the produce to reach far-away markets in their best state, extensive cooling and sanitary facilities are of the essence. Sparing little expense, an advanced cooling, processing, testing, sorting and packaging facility was erected on the western border of the Mashare property. From this warehouse, where a temperature as low as one degree Celsius is maintained at all times, Mashare’s berries would be dispatched, and shipped to places like Europe, Hong Kong, India and Malaysia. 

Once the berries come in season, many contractual workers come on board alongside permanent employees to help make Mashare’s operations run smoothly. Berry pickers make up the majority of the farm’s temporary workers, and are all women from the surrounding community, for many of which this is their first employment experience. Other key roles filled by community members include fertigation management, pest control, weighing station operators and maintenance employees. The packing process also involves warehouse workers, kitted out in thermal uniforms, who run the machine-assisted plant. 

In November 2021, an additional 40 hectares of blueberries were planted. With the knowledge and skill obtained from the first and second harvest, which yielded over 350 tons in total, Mashare could scale the knowledge and experience it had obtained. Now in its third blueberry harvest, the team is working hard to ensure that the season’s fruits are harvested, packed and shipped to the same standard that the international and local markets have become accustomed to.  

Looking towards the future of Mashare Agri, Namibians can be excited. An expansion plan to grow production to 200 hectares has been developed, promising employment in the thousands and even greater horizons for Namibia as a nation. The brilliant blueberry farm alongside Mashare’s wheat and maize crops that are still producing plentiful harvests for the local market is shifting the gears on our local agriculture industry. Proof that Namibia can be a key player in high-value crop production that directly benefits the Namibian people.