© Carolize Jansen | FP.comThe inclusion of people of colour all along the value chain is the normalization of our society, said Derek Donkin of the subtropical producer organization Subtrop. The third showcase of a successful black-owned farming enterprise by Fruit South Africa was this time in Tshivhase village, outside Thohoyandou, Limpopo.
Tshivhase Agridam Farm was established in 2001 with a main crop is bananas on 130 hectares and big plans for avocado expansion.
Fhumulani Ratshitanga, CEO of Fruit South Africa (right), sketched the scene for an industry that's been in survival mode for a while. FruitSA records and monitors the social inclusion projects run by South Africa's fruit producer organisations, reminded delegates of the extent of South Africa's fresh exports: during the course of 2022/2023, 3.6 million tonnes of fresh produce to the value of R65 billion was exported to over a hundred destinations.
"Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, but an act of justice," she stated. "The overall total area under production by black growers in various fruit types is 16,950 hectares, 8 to 10% against the total volume."
"Transformation of black growers is not only about black people"
At Subtrop, Stephen Mantsho has been at the helm of an array of programmes aimed at protecting the sustainability of black farmers. Since the introduction of operational study groups over five years ago, there has been a stable group of black farmers who supply local retailers and export avocados and litchis.
Mantsho held up Khathutshelo Matika as an outstanding avocado producer, and second-generation litchi farmer Khuliso Madima, both alumni of Subtrop's transformation initiatives.
He also thanked avocado and macadamia grower Carl Henning who, he said, was behind the one-hectare project initiated in 2020. Henning, who farms in Elim, lent his machinery to black farmers which just goes to show, Mantsho noted, that "transformation of black growers is not only about black people."
In the same vein, he lauded Zander and Edrean Ernst of Allesbeste Boerdery for donating 20,000 avocado trees to the transformation project, a donation, he remarked, made with pride and planted with pride by black farmers..
Subtrop has memoranda of understanding with the governments of Limpopo and Mpumalanga, and they've recently visited four black farmers in KwaZulu-Natal with a combined 500 hectares of productive farmland between them: it is a province where they'd like to deepen their engagement.
© Carolize Jansen | FP.comDerek Donkin of Subtrop, Fhumulani Ratshitanga of Fruit South Africa, Stephen Mantsho handling Subtrop's transformation portfolio, and Philip Mulaudzi, general manager of the showcase farm Tshivhase Agridam outside Thohoyandou, Limpopo
Mistrust is the death of a project
Given the uneven past of black empowerment agricultural projects in South Africa, Leona Archary, CEO of agricultural development company AGDA, led panelists to articulate a roadmap for inclusive growth as well as an exact definition of transformation because is it reconstituting the economic and social landscape when black community-owned land is merely leased to white farmers, asked Zander Ernst of Allesbeste Boerdery. "Is that really transformation? Probably not: some families are passionate about farming. They need to farm."
The Land Bank's CEO Themba Rikhotso set out that the intent of a partnership must be truthful, which is an aspect the Land Bank assesses in the applications they receive. Given the fraught history, mistrust can be present and it corrodes a project. "Partnerships work," agrees Desry Lesele, head of agriculture at Nedbank, "but a common challenge is a lack of a unified vision and mistrust."
Carl Henning observed: "We all have the same problems: we all have theft problems, problems with our bankers - we're no different from each other. But we need trust. Many projects failed because of mistrust." The example of Zebediela citrus farm, once among the foremost in the country and a fixture on holidaygoers' route to the coast, is an oft-cited example of this.
Henning included a word of warning on unplanned changes in land use. "Houses are being built on the best land in the country," he said. "God stopped making land five million years ago. Farm land that is resettled to residential development is a big concern."
© Carolize Jansen | FP.comLand Bank CEO Themba Rikhotso, Desry Lesele of Nedbank and Zander Ernst of Allesbeste Boerdery
Certification is a significant barrier to entry
Zander Ernst brought a matter to the table that crops up with increasing regularity among farmers and exporters. "In my opinion, the issue is not production and it's not skills. It is access to the market. In the end the barrier of entry that bothers me the most is certification and accreditation, becoming more and more expensive while wages are going up." He remarked that in their conversations with black growers, documentation around auditing is identified as one of the biggest hurdles.
"GlobalG.A.P. alone is not good enough anymore if you want top-tier prices. You need social auditing and the ironic thing is that a lot of the social accreditation was to get over our political past. Now the worst thing is that it's affecting those exact people the most."
Mantsho referred to the matter of security required for bank credit, to which Rikhotso replied that that was not a primary criterion for banks, such as the Land Bank, which looks at the cash flow.
In essence, pointed out Ernst, "the only thing that gets people away from banks is to obtain the best possible price for the best possible yield. Subtrop is doing a great job increasing the yields on these farms. The next thing now is to get them the best possible price."
Practical advice for successful funding applications
The long lag between applications and the release of funding – especially as farming is all about timing, as Land Bank Limpopo head Shertina Maremane pointed out – was brought up by the panel.
Rikhotso had some practical advice for farmers looking for funding. "The difference between one farmer who is not approved and the other who is approved: the latter in most cases takes ownership, he knows everything that's asked by the Land Bank and he pushes more." He added that the many requirements exacted by banks should not scare off farmers but rather drive them. "If you're not strong in the application you're not made for farming."
The matter of economic inclusion is an emotional one to South Africans, and rightly so. Derek Donkin put it well: "We need to step out of our comfort zone. We have to make a conscious decision to do what we know is the right thing."
© Carolize Jansen | FP.comA spirited performance by the talented pupils of the Tshiseluselu Primary School in Tshivhase, Thohoyandou
For more information:
Stephen Mantsho
Subtrop
Tel: +27 15 307 3676/7
Email: stephen@subtrop.co.za
https://www.subtrop.co.za/