Planting is underway some 400 kilometres north of Perth for an Indigenous-owned venture set to become Australia's largest cucumber farm.
Yamatji Fresh Produce will have capacity to produce 1700 tons of cucumbers in the near future.
Yamatji Enterprise Limited operations manager Vu Phan said the project would create up to 100 casual jobs and 15 permanent positions.
"We have started planting direct into the ground and planting seedlings, estimated to be over 200,000 cucumber plants and we expect to grow over 1,000 tons of cucumbers this year," Mr Phan said.
"We will be growing predominately continental cucumbers, but also Lebanese cucumbers and green cucumbers that are mostly for the hospitality industry.
"It takes about eight weeks from planting to harvest, so we expect to be harvesting around mid-June."
Mid-2022, cucumber farmer 4 Ways Fresh Produce signed an agreement with Yamatji Enterprises Limited and Indigenous Business Australia (IBA) to form Yamatji Fresh Produce.
IBA chief executive Kirsty Moore said the establishment of a cucumber farm near Geraldton would create a legacy for Traditional Owners.
"IBA's role is part of our overall investment strategy to co-invest with Indigenous partners to provide economic empowerment," Ms Moore said.
IBA and Yamatji Enterprises acquired the land near Geraldton in 2022 adjacent to the existing 4 Ways Fresh farm and started construction of 100 greenhouses at the beginning of this year, which are near complete.
Adding to the existing greenhouses, a further 100 will be constructed in 2025, and another 100 in the future enabling the horticultural facility to become Australia's largest cucumber producer.
Ms Moore said the fencing work around the block was a commitment to First Nations procurement, which marked the first of many First Nations–led contracts expected in this project.
"In addition, we will be installing a solar system on site to make Yamatji cucumbers as green as possible," she said.
"Next to that, groundwork has officially commenced with the construction of the dam, which will be the lifeblood of the facility, providing a reliable and efficient irrigation system to support the growth of our cucumber crops.
"As we dug the foundations, we knew that we were digging the foundations of a brighter future for the Yamatji community."
The construction of other essential facilities, including the ablution block, has commenced.
"We're proud of the commitment by all parties to work through the process and successfully achieve significant regulatory and development milestones along the way," Ms Moore said.
"Once we harvest, after our first cucumber season, we will also consider growing other crops such as tomatoes, eggplants and capsicum to fill the national supply gap.
"This is what IBA is all about – creating economic empowerment for generations to come," Ms Moore said.
Yamatji Fresh Produce will be available in supermarkets across Australia.
