EDEN-FRUIT is part of new developments and research in fruit growing, packing and marketing to develop new cultivars in the region.
We trust nature to guide us in producing the best alternative product for that region, in Hoedspruit we produce some of the finest quality Lemons, Grape Fruit and Valentia types.
Until 1997, the citrus industry was regulated, in other words everything was done through the Citrus Board. Since deregulation the industry has broken up into a number of different bodies.
The growers formed the Citrus Growers Association in 1998, largely responsible for research in the industry, but also playing a role in transformation, information and market access.
Export agents formed the Fresh Produce Exporters Forum and particular in terms of citrus, the Citrus Exporters Forum. They look at the export side and what is going on in the market.
The Citrus Growers Association also formed the Citrus Academy in 2005, which looks after training and skills development in the citrus sector. Then they also have Citrus Research International, which does research work and looks at the technical side of market access.
We invest in cultivar development in our specific regions by making use of the CGA that was formed in 1998.
We are a proud member of the CGA and CRI:
Citrus Growers’ Association (CGA) - www.cga.co.za
The CGA was established by citrus growers in the wake of deregulation in 1997. Growers were concerned that certain functions previously carried out by the Citrus Board could be discontinued or downsized. With the demise of a single channel marketing system there are often questions about “who represents the citrus grower?” The CGA believes that it is their role to fill this void. Growers interests are furthered through representation to citrus industry stakeholders – including government, exporters, research institutions and suppliers to the citrus industry.
The CGA represents the interests of the producers of export citrus. In total approximately 1400 growers throughout Southern Africa (including Zimbabwe and Swaziland) are members of the Association.
To maximise the long-term global competitiveness of the southern African citrus growers through the development, support, co-ordination and provision of Research and Technical services by combining strengths of all CRI Group partners.
The Citrus Academy is a non-profit company that was established by the Citrus Growers' Association of Southern Africa to enable human resource development in the Southern African citrus industry. The Academy is tasked with addressing specific challenges faced by the industry, being low production skills levels, employment equity, scarce and critical skills, black economic empowerment, and the quality of skills delivery.
The Academy was established in 2005, originally as a department of the CGA. At the time, the brief was to support transformation in the citrus industry by promoting and facilitating skills development. Through a process of consultation with various stakeholders and strategic planning, the mission and vision of the Academy was distilled to what it is today. In March 2007, the Citrus Academy was registered as a separate Section 21 company and launched during a glamorous event attended by the who's who of the citrus industry and the skills development landscape.
The Citrus Academy operates with the support and under the direction of the Citrus Growers' Association, executing the mandate given to it by the CGA. The Citrus Academy board of directors is made up of four CGA nominees, one donor representative, one service provider representative and one optional seat that can be filled by a skills development expert should the board consider it necessary.
The Citrus Academy receives a monthly service fee from the CGA from which covers its overhead expenditure and funds ongoing activities and services to citrus growers. For all other projects and activities the Academy depends on donor funding. The Citrus Academy has Section 18(a) tax exemption and has 100% beneficiary recognition for the purposes of B-BBEE.