Agribusiness

St John’s Village, set on 160ha of lush countryside in Howick, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), is renowned for its active outdoor lifestyle with secure homes and retirement opportunities.

What started out with a couple of plants bought at an orchid show in the 1960s, has turned into one of South Africa’s biggest orchid companies, Duckitt Nurseries. Wilferd Duckitt, the co-owner of the company, spoke to Glenneis Kriel about the business.

Basil Williams, the managing director of Herbal View Hydroponics, cultivates 3t of various herbs per month on just 1ha of land. Recently, he also tapped into the enormous potential of value-adding. Jeandré van der Walt visited him on his farm in Simondium, near Paarl.

To turn your agribusiness into a sustainable business, you need a partner like Nedbank to be with you every step of the way.

A popcorn factory in a small Northern Cape town has doubled production since expanding into the export market. Sabrina Dean asked director Koos de Wet and chief financial officer Jacques Louw how Biggi Brands continues to grow its niche agro-processing business.

An agricultural development of ±57ha in Carletonville, with more than 12ha of established greenhouses, will fall under the hammer of Dynamic Auctioneers on Thursday 12 March at 11am.

Diversifying a farming operation by adding a high-income niche crop is an effective way to utilise a small piece of spare land. Lindi Botha looks at four products that are gaining in popularity.

Nearly half of the world’s succulent species are endemic to Southern Africa. Despite this, our commercial farmers have yet to cash in on the thriving global succulent market. Glenneis Kriel spoke to Anthony Rausch, chairperson of the Johannesburg Succulent Society, about the many exciting opportunities available, and ways to overcome production challenges.

Two postgraduate students from the University of Cape Town are facilitating farming in the heart of the city, yet neither owns a sizeable piece of land. Wandile Tshabe, co-founder of No.Land Farming, spoke to Jeandré van der Walt about their innovative project.

Springvale Country Estate offers you the best of both worlds: modern, farm-style living in a secure estate, close to a major city.

Vergezocht Plant Oils is the first factory in Africa to produce cold-pressed, high-oleic sunflower oil. Sabrina Dean visited the plant in Bloemfontein in the Free State to find out more about Vergezocht’s business plan, which is built around using a niche sunflower cultivar to produce a high-demand product in a world moving towards healthier lifestyles.

Investing in efficient systems that optimise the use of space and yield, while reducing cost, is one way in which Gauteng-based Ichthys Aquaponics is growing its business. Siyanda Sishuba visited the operation and spoke to owners Justin and Nikki Hess to find out more.