Photo: Annelie Coleman
A donation of more than 2t of potatoes to feed the hungry this festive season is typical of farmers and the agricultural value chain’s commitment to local communities and the less fortunate.
This was according to Jaco Minaar, Agri SA president, following an announcement of the donation by Potatoes South Africa (PSA).
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He praised the association for its initiative to launch the ‘Pass the Potato’ campaign, aimed at encouraging South Africans to donate potatoes to those in need, and challenging friends and family members to do the same using #PassThePotato on social media.
Minaar said the country’s farmers had proven to be essential since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, as well as the civil unrest in KwaZulu- Natal during July, in terms of the provision and distribution of food and other necessities.
“During the past two years, the sector and its members took praiseworthy responsibility for local communities left destitute and who otherwise would have found it extremely difficult to survive,” he said.
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Willie Jacobs, CEO of PSA, said in a statement that millions of households were currently gripped in a desperate struggle for survival, not knowing where their next meal would come from.
“We are therefore calling on all South Africans to join in the spirit of giving and take urgent action to support the poor and needy,” he added.
The organisation had already started to distribute the potatoes.
Some of the recipients included the Eleos Community Centre in Pretoria West and the Thuthuzela Aid Community Centre in Alexandra, Johannesburg.
