Nandos procures chilli from smallholder farmers

A group of 500 small-holder farmers in Zimbabwe and Mozambique are producing about 300t of chilli annually for Nandos, Georg Gruber, director of Nandos’ grocery division told Farmers Weekly.

“We buy fresh, and [solar] dried chilli from the famers,” he said, adding the chili is transported to SA for processing.

The costs of the inputs were recovered from the sale of ABE once harvesting began. All farmers are paid a fixed price of $0,83 per fresh kilogram, the equivalent of $2,70 (about R29) dried per kilogram, said Gruber.

The project is set to uplift the lives of emerging farmers by offering an ideal opportunity to develop a supply chain, said Gruber.