Mpeshe Selebalo

MASERU — A local hatchery, Solid Rock, on Monday signed a partnership deal with a South African supplier that could see the company boosting its capacity.

A hatchery is a facility where eggs, especially of poultry, are hatched under artificial conditions.

Solid Rock supplies broiler chicks to seven districts and has a capacity to produce 25 000 broilers a week.

A senior official from the hatchery, Motebang Mohoanyane, told the Sunday Express they entered the partnership because they had been encountering problems with suppliers from South Africa.

These problems, he said, had “resulted in serious shortages of broiler chicks locally”.

“Since we import from South Africa our suppliers only exported their eggs to us in cases where they had a surplus which caused problems for our business,” Mohoanyane said.

The South African hatchery is expected to supply about 80 000 eggs to the local hatchery every week.

The poultry industry is currently dominated by small-scale farmers.

Mohoanyane said the deal will improve planning and ensure they are able to supply the local market.