In a farming environment, everyone understands the impact of agricultural businesses on communities, the economy and employment. In addition, fruit earning their place under the banner of globally coveted brands, create a sense of pride amongst those growing and packing it. And the ClemenGold marketing team is in agreement that while brands are the marketing game changers for fruit, harnessing the recognition and loyalty of consumers, the true heroes are the producers who undertake the cultivar plantings with the associated capitals investments, then optimise production on-farm and work with packhouses to deliver into the brands.
For ClemenGold®, Sweet C® and LemonGold® it is no different, and its largest supply partner, Indigo Fruit Farming has a large footprint in the Burgersfort/Lydenburg/Steelpoort area. It’s ability to successfully produce, pack and match available fruit to the different markets and the various countries’ consumer needs, sets these brands apart. Indigo manages to intentionally develop and adapt farming practices to specifically meet different market requirements in terms of external appearance, fruit size, residue, and phytosanitary regulations and most importantly, internal quality or tasting experience.
With more than 4 million trees planted on 50 farms Indigo farming is a leader in the production of premium citrus, late mandarins and seedless lemons. “Our range of climatically diverse production regions spanning three provinces, stretches our South African premium mandarin supply season to around 24 weeks of the year, starting with Leanri’s in Letsitele in April and concluding with late Nadorcotts in the Western Cape in October, while our first seedless lemons ripen in February already,” says AJ Esser, Indigo CEO. “The use of netting structures, pioneering tree spacing, industry leading water-conscious irrigation practices, and precision orchard management enable us to produce fruit that adhere to our strict quality standards.” It is this ability to provide consistent quality, that facilitates supply to the branding programs and endears these brands to their customers.
The Indigo farming business is known to be early adopters of new technology, farming techniques and methodologies in their production practices. Some of these approaches include the following:
- moving from producing high volumes to a single focus on high-quality fruit to satisfy the requirements of premium brands;
- investment in netting, both to enhance packouts of fruit that could fit into brand specifications but also as mitigation for hail and wind;
- introducing precision farming early on with the adoption of in-house software to monitor water utilisation, pest and disease and crop development;
- introducing low-flow irrigation (Indigo was one of the first farms in South Africa to embrace this approach), which has shown significant water usage reductions through more efficient management; and
- challenging the status quo with high-density plantings. Whereas the industry standard was ±435 trees per hectare, Indigo initiated plantings of 1 666 trees per hectare, with more intensive crop management.
In five high-tech Indigo packing facilities fruit is sorted by state-of-the-art equipment according to specifications set per quality, size and brand, and often per country and receiving customer. Cumulatively these facilities are able to pack more than 15 000 tonnes of fruit per week. The upgrading of Twypack outside Mbombela in Mpumalanga, the Group’s newest facility, has extensively added to its capacity and houses a 14-lane sizer and state of the art fruit camera system.
With the availability of electricity currently a challenge in South Africa, Indigo packhouses in Hoedspruit, Burgersfort and Mbombela have made significant investments to be able to harness the power of the sun. Solar plants at each of their packhouses provide clean energy to the national grid. Combined energy generation is estimated to be more than 1660 kW/hour, which takes tremendous pressure off the national electricity supply. Variable speed drives, electronic power controllers that allow for precise control of speed and torque, are used in pumphouses and packhouses to optimise electrical efficiencies.
The journey for ClemenGold®, Sweet C®and LemonGold® fruit starts in the orchards where dedicated farmers nurture them until they are optimum for picking and then sent for packing to be delivered for the consumer eating experience. Partners like Indigo Farming and Indigo Packing understand and supports the care and quality that is required to deliver on our brands strategy.
For more information, visit www.clemengold.com and www.indigofruit.co.za