Brinjals Bring Stability For Vegetable Producer

Any farmer will tell you that there is no such thing as a perfect crop, as each has its own challenges. From a production point of view, brinjals are as easy as they come, but limited demand puts a brake on large-scale production. Theuns Kotzee, a director of AAL Boerdery in Limpopo, explained to Lindi Botha how they manage this crop.

- Lindi Botha

A hardy plant and thick-skinned fruit are two of the characteristics that make brinjals a relatively fuss-free crop to produce. “There are no production challenges. It’s a willing grower,” says Theuns Kotzee, one of the directors of AAL Boerdery in Trichardtsdal, Limpopo.

Kotzee runs the farm in partnership with his brothers-in-law Sybrand van Jaarsveld and Louis Lategan. Production comprises papayas, jam tomatoes, peppers and brinjals, with cabbage and butternuts gradually being added to the mix.

Kotzee says that having brinjals adds an element of stability to their operation. “You can depend on a brinjal; it won’t really drop you. But because market expansion is limited, brinjal needs to form part of a larger basket of products that you deliver to the market.”

AAL Boerdery has been cultivating brinjals for about 20 years, testimony to the dependability of the crop.

“We have an affinity for brinjals. Our family eats lots of them and there are few meals where brinjals don’t feature,” says Kotzee.

GROWING CONDITIONS

Trichardtsdal’s high temperatures are well suited to brinjal production. Kotzee recalls the mercury reaching 46°C without affecting the crop. Low temperatures, too, have little effect; in winter the minimum temperature falls as low as 0°C without causing problems. All this enables AAL Boerdery to produce brinjals throughout the year.

The crop is grown on 6ha, with an annual yield of between 100t and 120t. Four to five workers per hectare are required.