Kagiso Trust’s Tyala Impact Fund (TIF) has collaborated with the Spar Mopani Rural Hub in Limpopo in an attempt to empower small-scale farmers. The three main themes revolve around opening up market access, transferring skills and infrastructure development.
The Spar Mopani Rural Hub program is a decentralized hub business model that used packhouses as mini distribution centres in rural areas where fresh food is collected, packaged and distributed to market. While local farmers initially supplied low-value vegetables such as cabbage and spinach, which could be sold direct from farmers to local retailers, the financial involvement of Kagiso Trust TIF and FNB has meant the Hub has also begun supplying high-value produce, such as peppers, cocktail tomatoes and cucumbers.
GAP accreditation covers all stages of production, from pre-harvest activities to post-harvest produce handling, packing and storing. Six farmers successfully completed the audit and received certification in the first quarter. The consistent production of high-value crops requires investment in the development of infrastructure, which include nets houses, irrigation systems and boreholes.
Source: reviewonline.co.za
