Large trucks laden with crates of red, yellow and orange fruit have become a common sight on the R72 and along the dirt roads in Martindale, Shaw Park and Bathurst as their precious cargo arrives at “Makhanda’s gem”, Carara Agro Processing.
The labour-intensive crops of locally grown cherry peppers, sweetheart peppers, patty pans and jalapenos create about 15,000 jobs annually, half being seasonal agricultural jobs and half seasonal processing jobs, with 50 permanent staff across the group.
During harvesting season, which runs from February to May, there can be upwards of 300 staff on some of the bigger local farms around Makhanda picking fruit per day, with roughly 10 people harvesting per hectare.
The fruit, with their bright colours and beautiful textures, shapes and flavours, grown in the Eastern Cape soil, form part of a range of dishes and antipasti menus enjoyed by thousands around the world, even as far afield as the UK, US, Australia, UAE, Israel and EU countries like Germany, France, Belgium, Norway, Holland, Greece and Poland.
“It’s amazing to think they all come from Makhanda,” Carara MD Mike Duxbury said.
“We set out to be recognised as a world-class organization and I think we meet that.
“But we cannot be complacent. We must always adapt and change with global trends.”
Since its inception in 2004, Carara’s growth has been exponential, with a footprint now extending across southern Africa, into Zimbabwe, Zambia and Kwa-Zulu Natal.
For Duxbury, who has headed up the business since its humble beginnings in 2004, creating jobs has been a huge benefit of expansion.
The business now includes nine outgrower operations: three in Zimbabwe, four in Zambia, two in the Eastern Cape, a second processing factory in Ladysmith, eleven packsheds across three countries, and 50 farmers across three countries growing approximately 600 to 700 hectares of the intensive crops.
The outgrower facilities complete the first step of the processing, putting the fruit in salt brine before sending it on to the Makhanda processing plant.
The plant in KZN packages unpasteurised products, while the canning facility in the Eastern Cape processes preservative-free but pasteurised products.
These world-class modern processing sites are Sedex-registered and Smeta-audited. They are Halal and Kosher certified, FDA certified, and FSSC22000 certified.
This is all achieved through a massive team effort, including our farmers, staff and customers
The business exports thousands of tonnes of fruit per year, mostly in bulk, which are then often filled with cream cheese and packed into individual punnets.
Duxbury said roughly 100 million punnets are sold every year.
“This is all achieved through a massive team effort, including our farmers, staff and customers,” he said.
Dave Duncan, a farmer in the Belmont Valley outside Makhanda, has been Carara’s largest single supplier for 21 years.
Carara filled a desperate need in the early 2000s with the chicory factory in Alexandria in its “death throes”, he said.
“We had to have an agro processor that we could supply at contracted prices and at scale as a reliable source of income,” he said.
Describing Carara as “Makhanda’s gem”, Duncan added: “The jobs Carara creates every year makes a massive difference in our area, with its high unemployment rates.
“Carara also sponsors many charities, sports teams and clubs in the area, as well as the NSRI in Port Alfred.
“I’m so proud of what we have achieved in 21 years.”
Winston Plaatjies, the goods receiving manager at Carara, says the business feels more like a large family than a corporate entity.
Having worked there for 19 years, Plaatjies knows the company also helps some local schools by cutting their grass.
“We put up bins to help keep the city clean, too,” he said.
Staff are encouraged to empower themselves with off-season skills development programmes.
Sinazo Tom, a seasonal worker at Carara for 12 years, said, “Carara has done many things for me. They give us jobs and we are learning so much.
“If there is a crisis, they help us when we need it, and even support our local soup kitchens and schools.”
She now holds qualifications in cleaning and first aid. “We really appreciate what they do for us because we can provide for our children now,” she added.
For SME owner Graham Heyns, the example Carara sets in the local business community helps to motivate other businesses to give back where they can.
“When Carara repairs potholes and so on, they set a good example for smaller businesses.
“They are not just repairing, they are investing in the town.
“It is encouraging in a small town when the bigger companies show they believe in the town, it does help improve morale.”
Duxbury says the threat of input price increases from the war in Iran is concerning, but farmers are working together to mitigate that risk.
“It’s all about communication,” he said.
However, the biggest worry is much closer at hand.
Crumbling infrastructure — especially the water supply — in Makhanda “poses a serious threat to the business, and what it does for the community”, Duxbury said.
“We’ve got a good thing going and we wouldn’t want to lose it for all involved.” — Talk of the Town
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