Business

In 2014, the Cederberg Tree Nursery produced 100 000 citrus trees a year. Two years later, after its acquisition by ANB Investments, the nursery produces more than 550 000 citrus trees annually.

In response to the devastating drought in their area, a group of Hluhluwe commercial farmers has exemplified the spirit of ubuntu by assisting communal farmers.

When Roleen Basson started Darling Olives about 10 years ago, she didn’t even eat olives. However, today her business produces about 30 product lines, and the Darling Olives footprint will soon extend to supermarkets beyond the Western Cape.

Lesedi Day Care was established by Katlego Sitrus to provide a safe and nurturing environment for farmworkers’ children. Wilma den Hartigh visited the farm school near Marble Hall.

Neville Fletcher of Cathcart in the Eastern Cape is an extraordinary man. A war veteran who saw action in the fierce Italian campaign, he returned to South Africa to enjoy a long, highly successful farming career. As if that were not enough, he was a national champion in both tennis and gymkhana. Mike Burgess visited him.

Walter Gouveia and Kobus Schoeman believe it is up to younger farmers to break the mould of conventional farming practices and stereotypes and farm sustainably for the future. They now mentor students to ensure that this message is widely spread.

Fynbos Fine Foods, owned by chilli lovers Rozelle and Julian Abramson, has grown from a small business to a prosperous product development and food production business. The operation’s chilli products are exported to various countries around the world.

Much controversy has surrounded South Africa’s poultry imports from the US. Freelance journalist, Peter Fabricius, examines this thorny issue and attempts to clarify some misconceptions.

Mkululi Pakade, director of East Cape Macadamia, has devised a business model that positions the Eastern Cape’s local communities firmly within the macadamia industry.

Mutton and lamb produced in South Africa are highly nutritious, and misconceptions that these meat classes are fatty and detrimental to consumers’ health must be allayed, says Marina Bester of Lamb and Mutton South Africa. She spoke to Annelie Coleman about the organisation’s campaign to promote mutton and lamb consumption.

With South African forestry currently recovering an average of only 47% of its potential timber yield for economic benefit, the industry is ripe for the widespread adoption of value-adding biorefinery technology. Dr Bruce Sithole, director of the Forest and Forest Products Research Centre in KwaZulu-Natal, explains how.

The use of trademarks, patents and plant breeders’ rights can make an agricultural business more competitive locally and internationally. Gerhard Uys spoke to David Cochrane and Madelein Kleyn about the application processes involved and the implementation.