The Eastern Cape is pushing ahead with a number of high-impact projects in the agro-processing industry that will create a significant number of jobs, Eastern Cape Development Corporation sector manager for agro-processing Mlamli Nodada said yesterday.

Speaking at a seminar on "Unearthing the agro-processing potential of the Eastern Cape", Nodada said the pineapple zero-waste initiative planned for Bathurst required investment of R700-million and would create 800 new jobs and save 1,500.

He said the pineapple industry had been struggling and the canning factory had closed. The new initiative would see the industry "restructured on a good footing" with the focus on juice and additional value being created through the use of waste products.

These included water extraction, pharmaceutical products, dietary fibre and textile fibre, with gas and electricity from biomass making it a "truly zero-waste industry in factory and farm".

Nodada said the focus was also being placed on the processing of berries and a business plan had been completed for a start to this project, to be located near Sutterheim, in 2012. An investment of R200-million was required and 5 800 jobs would be created over a period of eight to 10 years.

He said the beneficiation of alien timber also had potential through harvesting and then adding value. A business plan had been developed which showed that the project would create 575 jobs and cost R80-million, with the end product planks, treated poles and charcoal. A pilot plant was planned for next month, costing R2-mil-lion, he said, adding that one of the huge advantages was that the project could be replicated throughout the Eastern Cape.

Nodada said other areas under scrutiny were dried herbs, as the quality of herbs being imported was poor, as well as essential oils for soaps, massage oils, candles and perfumes. Dehydrated vegetables and maca-damia nuts, where there was "great potential but very little production", were also being considered.

He said dairy "empowerment and transformation" was also under the spotlight, with five projects involving an investment of R131-million in total and capable of producing 19.5 million litres of milk.

Nodada said the objective of the sector plan was to attract foreign direct investment and entrepreneurial interest, adding that well developed sectors with existing and efficient structures and an established value chain; such as citrus, maize and forestry, and declining sub-sectors, like cotton, were excluded.

Speaking at the seminar, general manager for environmental management in the Eastern Cape Department of Economic Development and Environmental Affairs Albert Mfenyana noted that the primary sector was the worst-performing sector in the province and had "experienced a downward trend in contribution to the provincial output since 1995".

On average, between 1995 and 2008 the sector's contribution to the total output of the province was 2.7%.