Bean aggregator helps small-scale farmers grow
Lusanda Moletsane runs an aggregator of small white beans from two farming clusters located in Nigel and Bronkhorstspruit respectively. She spoke to Pieter Dempsey about her passion for helping small-scale...
Driving transformation in the citrus industry
Shaun Brown, owner of Eden Agri packhouse, has brought together a group of citrus producers from the Kat River Valley to collaborate on creating a better future for the area...
Data: key to empowering Africa’s women farmers
Women play a vital role in Africa’s agriculture sector, growing about 70% of the continent’s food. Yet Africa’s smallholder women farmers come up against various barriers that limit their potential as...
Farmer’s passion for agriculture helps uplift her community
Vegetable farmer Mabel Dikobe’s story is a fine example of how equipping small businesses with the resources they require can empower them to support entire communities.
Meet the Western Cape’s stock theft hero
In 2020, Sergeant Thabo Moletsane won the Western Cape Stock Theft Committee’s award for Best Member of a Stock Theft Unit for the fourth year in a row. Glenneis Kriel...
New hope for failed land reform farm
A group of subsistence farmers in the Western Cape have put their differences aside and come together to realise their individual dreams of owning a farm. Glenneis Kriel reports on...
Turning food waste into three million meals
Small beginnings can lay the foundation of great success. This holds true for SA Harvest, a food rescue and distribution organisation. Ali Conn, regional manager at SA Harvest, spoke to...
Land beneficiaries’ 20-year struggle for government help
The Mswati Communal Property Association (CPA) in Mpumalanga was one of the earliest beneficiaries of the new South African government’s land reform programme. More than 20 years later, the community is...
How an agripreneur is creating jobs for his community
Lengau Mothiane has just signed on another 10 employees to handle the workload at his farmer support services business, Horizon Southern Group. Sabrina Dean spoke to him about his journey.
Essential oils: a balm for emerging farmers
Qobo Qobo Essential Oils, a non-profit organisation, has teamed up with South African Breweries to establish an essential oil crop venture in the impoverished Keiskammahoek area of the Eastern Cape....
Stokvel concept offers hope to young farmers
Brought together through necessity by severe and ongoing drought, a group of farmers from Kuruman, Northern Cape, established an unusual stokvel in 2016 to assist each other with the sharing...
New Harvest winner gets the basics right and comes out tops
As the son of a farmworker, Sewis van der Horst managed to work his way up to become a farmer in his own right and an exporter of quality fruit....
Community farm’s drive and discipline rewarded at last
Having suffered several setbacks in their efforts to make their agribusiness profitable, a group of hard-working land reform beneficiaries in KwaZulu-Natal at last got the help they needed from an...
From seasonal worker to award-winning farmer
The Agricultural Writers SA New Entrant to Commercial Agriculture winner in 2019, Dirk Louw, is showing that it still is possible to start farming from scratch. He spoke to Glenneis...
Empowering smallholders to access the supply chain
Black smallholder farmers are often excluded from the supply chain due to high barriers of entry. A fund established by Tiger Brands is now trying to address this problem. Mary-Jane...
Township vegetable garden empowers women
The Siyazama Community Garden in Khayelitsha has changed the lives of a group of women in the township. During a media tour to the garden hosted by Coronation Fund Managers,...
Lessons learnt from land reform
The Karsten and Dutoit groups are amongst the largest farming companies in South Africa and have holdings across the country. Both were involved in land reform long before the current...
Transformation project stands as an example
Despite ongoing delays and red tape, Merino stud breeder Eddie Prinsloo and eight of his employees have begun farming in partnership in a business known as the Donkerhoek Farming Project....
Mom-and-daughter team’s formula for farming success
On 8 March, the world will celebrate International Women’s Day, and the role of women in agriculture is particularly evident at Temaretha Piggery. Excellence can be seen in each aspect...
How aquaponics benefits children and the community
Two years ago, Laerskool Kempton Park embarked on an innovative project to introduce aquaponics in its school curriculum. The produce from this system not only provides nutritious food, but teaches...
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