Project Name：Fruit Tree Production and Marketing Project (Eswatini)

Project status：Completed projects

Cooperating Country：Africa, Kingdom of Eswatini

Project Description：The Kingdom of Eswatini has successfully developed the production of sugar cane, pineapple, citrus and other cash crops, but the convergence in production of similar types of crops also puts farmers’ incomes at a greater risk. Eswatini is therefore implementing strategies to diversify production and commercialization, and the production and marketing of fruits has been emphasized in the Ministry of Agriculture’s action plan from 2013 to 2018.

After evaluation, it was found that the supply of fruit tree seedlings is unstable, that smallholder farmers lack experience in the large-scale production of bananas and papayas, and that up-to-date fruit tree cultivation management and post-harvest processing techniques need to be established. These issues have resulted in smallholder farmers only cultivating a minimal range of types of fruit trees, generating little income. By drawing on Taiwan’s plentiful variety of fruits and cultivation experience through bilateral cooperation, authorities in Eswatini hope to implement this project, and have selected banana and papaya, which have a larger market demand and potential, as the main targets, and pitaya (dragon fruit) and guava as secondary targets. The project will assist farmers in engaging in fruit tree production and in diversifying the variety of fruit trees, improving the fruit tree industrial chain and increasing farmers’ incomes.

Project content will include: (1) Establishing a high-quality fruit seedling supply system, including the production of 215,000 banana seedlings and 15,000 papaya seedlings at Malkerns National Agricultural Research Station over four years, and the production of 3,000 guava seedlings and 10,000 pitaya seedlings at Matsapha Station over four years; (2) establishing a production area for the target fruit trees, assisting farmer’s organizations working in the area to cultivate 105 hectares of bananas, 7.5 hectares of papayas, 5 hectares of guavas, and 5 hectares of pitayas; (3) improving fruit tree cultivation management techniques; and (4) improving post-harvest management techniques.

Project No：TT-310-2016-015

Implementation Start Date：2016-01-01

Implementation End Date：2019-12-31

Project Objectives：A per-hectare increase in income of 40 percent (as compared to sugar cane) among farmer’s organizations receiving guidance through the project.

Executing Agency：Ministry of Agriculture
Taiwan Technical Mission in the Kingdom of Eswatini

Project Performance：1.Established mother stock field of 0.1 hectare papaya and 0.1 hectare pitaya.
2.Established and managed demonstration field of 0.1 hectare banana, 0.2 hectare papaya, 0.1 hectare pitaya and 0.1 hectare guava for training, adaptability research, technical demonstration and market test.
3.Produced 321,000 banana, 15,000 papaya and 79,218 pitaya and 3,386 guava seedlings.
4.Extended 100.34 hectare banana, 7.6 hectare papaya, 5 hectare pitaya and 5 hectare guava.
5.Designed field record book and assisted farmers to record daily works.
6.Sold 1,926 ton banana, 71.30 ton papaya, 16.15 ton pitaya and 0.54 ton guava fruits to domestic and export markets.
7.Accumulated revolving fund of E 1,770,723.69.
8.Accomplished fruit tree technical guides as below:
(1)Banana Propagation Guide (booklet)
(2)Papaya Propagation Guide (brochure)
(3)Pitaya Propagation Guide (brochure)
(4)Guava Propagation Guide (brochure)
(5)Banana Cultivation Guide (booklet)
(6)Papaya Cultivation Guide (guidebook)
(7)Pitaya Cultivation Guide (guidebook)
(8)Guava Cultivation Guide (guidebook)
(9)Banana Post-Harvest Management (booklet)
(10)Papaya Post-Harvest Management (booklet)
(11)Pitaya Post-Harvest Management (booklet)
(12)Guava Post-Harvest Management (booklet)
(13)Pitaya Propagation, Cultivation and Post-harvest (book includes plant morphology, propagation, field management, post-harvest, pest management, cost analysis, products etc.)
9.Conducted 39 training courses for fruit tree seedling propagation, field cultivation and post-harvest. Total of 816 farmers or technicians attended.
10.Lease refrigerted truck and tractor to assist with field harvest and market delivery.

Phone：+886-2-2873-2323 Ext.215

E-mail：w.c.tsai@icdf.org.tw

Mission：Taiwan Technical Mission in the Kingdom of Eswatini (Former Swaziland)