Young farmer now grows nuts for SA’s top brands

A development programme aimed at small-scale farmers has allowed a young female farmer from Mutele to get a foot in the door of a major buyer of produce. The 28-year-old Azwikonei Ramalivhana is now producing ground nuts that are used by Tiger Brands to produce its iconic peanut butter.

Ramalivhana receives assistance from Tiger Brands’ Agriculture Aggregator model. This programme was introduced in 2019 and pairs small-scale farmers with aggregators. As fully fledged business entities, these aggregators procure from multiple farmers and enter into commercial agreements with corporates such as Tiger Brands, providing better guarantees on tonnage, delivery time frames, and quality standards.

According to Litha Kutta, Tiger Brands’ enterprise and supplier development director, many young people are looking at agriculture as a possible career. But, while many of these individuals are qualified to some extent, she says, they remain left out of the agriculture industry, either due to a “lack of access to develop their skills” or the need to receive “corporate assistance” when it comes to developing their entrepreneurial ambitions.

These issues speak to the greater challenge facing small-scale farmers who struggle to produce at the scale and quality that large food producers demand. Reaching this level of production requires development and support, often spanning several years – something that adds complexity to a corporate supply chain.

As a way to address this challenge, Tiger Brands introduced its Agriculture Aggregator model, which, through expert technical and management-skills support, helps small-scale farmers to compete at a commercial level. Since its launch, the programme has supported 157 black small-scale farmers and raised R54 million in funding.

In the case of Azwikonei Ramalivhana, she was paired with Mpumi Maesela, director of Servicios Empresaviales Holdings. Under Maesela’s guidance, Ramalivhana has been able to grow her enterprise, providing Tiger Brands with two hectares’ worth of ground nuts.

Ramalivhana cultivates a further eight hectares for herself, which brings in added revenue and enables her to hire one permanent employee and three temporary workers.

“I didn’t have a job or food for my family, so I decided to start planting okra, tomatoes and spinach,” recalls Ramalivhana, who started out with half a hectare of land. “I wanted to produce food for the people around me and try make some income for my family at the same time.”

At the beginning, Ramalivhana did not earn enough to pay for any help. This changed when she entered the Agricultural Aggregator Development Programme.

“There is a very real risk facing the survival of South Africa’s agricultural sector if we don’t encourage more young people to participate in it,” says Kutta. “These graduates are an untapped workforce with a keen interest in agriculture. It will benefit us all to help nurture them by removing barriers to entry, so that they can make a valuable contribution to the sustainability of agriculture.”

Zoutnet | News | Young farmer now grows nuts for SA’s top brands

Tiger Brands builds and supports emerging farmers through its development fund

Ventersdorp – Food manufacturing giant Tiger Brands is providing emerging farmers with funding and skills to be able to participate in its empire through a small farmer development programme that is part of its transformation drive.

The company, which produces millions of tons of various foods daily, has invested millions through its Dipuno Enterprise and Supplier Development Fund, which was launched in 2019.

The funding is implemented through farm aggregators across the country to assist the company in receiving the required demand for farm produce.

Under the programme, the first group of white maize farmers from Ventersdorp, in the North West Province, presented their first crop this week.

Participating farmers received funding for supplements, which enabled them to produce on a bigger scale than they could do on their own.

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A farmer, Kagiso Molebaloa, said while he started farming in the early 2000s with his parents, it was the first time he planted 300 hectares of maize that he will supply to Tiger Brands. He leased communal land from the local traditional authorities, which had not been used before.

“It helps a lot to be under the aggregators, the input cost of agriculture is very steep. I would not even attempt to plant on land that is this big. The fertiliser and everything else is very expensive. The Dipuno fund funds 90% of our input, so it takes the bulk of the cost off.

Ventersdorp emerging farmers who are part of Tiger Brands small farmers development programme harvested their white maize they will supply to the company. Picture Siboniso Mngadi

“As a result, the programme enabled us to develop more quickly than we otherwise could have done with our resources.

“It is a very good project because it allows us to grow,” he said. “The commercial banks don’t have to give us the lowest rate; they just have to give us the funding and technical support we need.”

Another farmer, Lerako Naphtaly, leased a commercial farm where he grows white maize.

He said the aggregator model has been beneficial as Tiger Brands required large scale produce throughout the year.

“It is hard to enter into this business because you need to be a commercial farmer to meet their demand. But through aggregators, they managed to combine our produce well, get a share and participate in the economy.

“Their financial support has been great and made it possible for us as small farmers. All we need is more land so we can keep this going,”he said.

Litha Kutta, Tiger Brands Enterprise and Supplier Development Director, said there was a pressing need to change the situation and agriculture was an integral part of turning things around. He said the company was doing its part to transform small farmers to participate in its dominance in the food sector.

He added that while many of these emerging farmers were qualified to some extent, they remain left out of the agriculture industry either due to a “lack of access to develop their skills” or the need to receive “corporate assistance” when it comes to developing their entrepreneurial ambitions.

“These issues speak to the greater challenge facing small-scale farmers who struggle to produce at the scale and quality that large food producers demand. Reaching this level of production requires development and support, often spanning several years – something that adds complexity to a corporate supply chain.

“As a way to address this challenge, Tiger Brands introduced its Agriculture Aggregator model, which, through expert technical and management skills support, helps small scale black farmers to compete at a commercial level,”he said.

He added that since it launched in 2019, the programme has supported 157 small black farmers and raised R54m in funding.

Other small farmers who are interested in the programme are urged to get in touch with the business to learn more. Kutta said they want to foster relations with the government to gain access to land and increase their funding to a billion rand to increase local produce for the company.

Tiger Brands builds and supports emerging farmers through its development fund (iol.co.za)

Gender diversity will drive future agri growth, says Nedbank

The South African agriculture sector continues to deliver growth and value to the economy, with a growth rate of 13.1% recorded in 2020, 8.3% in 2021 and a 3.6% year-on-year growth rate so far this year.

Growth will, however, taper off soon if the sector does not find new ways of managing complexities that impact growth, such as gender diversity, says financial services provider Nedbank.

The Bureau of Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP) expects agricultural growth will decelerate towards the end of this year and into 2023; however, transformation, inclusion and diversity can be essential growth drivers in the agricultural space and for the country as a whole, Nedbank says.

“By supporting a more diverse and inclusive environment, the sector can create jobs, and advance food security and sustainability,” notes Nedbank agriculture head John Hudson.

Nedbank cites research published by international journal Journal of Development Studies, finding that empowering women leads to economic benefits for their homes, communities and the sector.

This is echoed in a study conducted by consultancy McKinsey, titled ‘The Power of Parity: Advancing Women’s Equality in Africa’, which points out how Africa could add $316-billion to its yearly gross domestic product if it makes gender equality a priority.

“Currently, the South African labour market is more supportive of men than it is of women, with female unemployment at 37.3%,” Hudson explains, adding that there is a need for reform, both at policy level and local level, to improve access to financing, support and opportunities for women in an active way.

He believes the sector can reduce the hurdles that women face in the sector by taking measurable and functional steps to make access to finance and support easier.

For example, financial institutions, the public sector and other private sector companies can prioritise female empowerment and drive the diversity conversation throughout their interactions with the sector.

This will drive a wider approach to transformation and create opportunities that will give women the chance to realise their potential and expand their ideas into commercially viable enterprises.

Hudson says it is important to go beyond just paperwork and lip service and to empower women within the agricultural sector tangibly, giving them the financial instruments and support they need to be innovative, to grow their businesses, and to make the most of their opportunities.

Nedbank, for one, is committed to the growth and transformation of the agricultural sector and has put the gender inclusion conversation at the forefront of its agenda.

This commitment extends into job creation, a sustainable economy and sustainable solutions to contemporary issues facing female farmers, as well as into developing tailor-made solutions that fit their requirements and growth expectations.

CASE IN POINT

JSE-listed packaged goods manufacturer Tiger Brands has a growing supplier base of black women-owned enterprises across its value chain.

The company spends an average R4.2-billion on procurement with black women-owned enterprises a year and is actively working to increase that figure.

Tiger Brands says black women farmers, in particular, are a fundamental source of agricultural commodities used for the production of some of the company’s most iconic and well-loved brands, including Koo, All Gold, Black Cat and Ace.

At least 70 women farmers in key agricultural communities across South Africa provide ingredients, including ground nuts, tomatoes, white maize, small white beans, sorghum and wheat, to Tiger Brands.

A critical focus for Tiger Brands is to help scale these farmers to operate at a commercial level in South Africa – a barrier which few are able to break.

Tiger Brands has an Agriculture Aggregator programme in place to support farmers in reaching commercialised operations, including through market access, opportunities to receive input finance, and through providing agrarian and technical support.

In turn, the aggregators can enter into agreements with multiple smallholder farmers to procure the volume of agricultural raw materials required by Tiger Brands.

For example, SE Holdings director Mpumi Maesela, an aggregator for Tiger Brands since 2020, has been supplying the company with A-grade small white beans together with smallholder farmers across KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, North West, Limpopo and Free State.

Tiger Brands says it is always on the lookout for eligible black women farmers who have a desire and passion for farming, as well as access to land and water.

“If we are going to tackle the issue of food insecurity in a sustainable manner, it is agriculture that we need to look to, because farms and farmers produce the food that feeds the people.

“It is important that large organisations support the sector and build the capacity and capability of farmers so that they are well-equipped to ensure that all South Africans have access to a healthy and nutritious meal every day,” says Tiger Brands corporate affairs and sustainability chief officer Mary-Jane Morifi. 

Gender diversity will drive future agri growth, says Nedbank (engineeringnews.co.za)

Servicios Empresaviales Holdings (SE Holdings)

SE Holdings is a 100% black women-owned, managed, and controlled business that was founded in 2014.

•The senior leadership comprises a team of young but deeply experienced professionals, with expertise in:
•Agriculture and Agro-processing
•Enterprise Development
•Business Strategy
•ICT
•Financial Services
•Supply Chain Advisory
•Project Management
•Fund Management,
•Management Consulting

SE Holdings has refined its business model to narrow its focus on the agriculture SMME sector. The business transitions subsistence rural micro-scale farmers to being small business owners in the agricultural sector i.e., Agri-SMMEs participating meaningfully in the mainstream economy

SE Holdings has aggregated 5 (five) farmers that have focused on the production of over 250 tons of small white beans supplied to Tiger Brands.

Servicios Empresaviales Holdings (SE Holdings) – Dipuno (dipunofund.co.za)

Women farmers bolster Tiger Brands value chain

At least 70 women farmers provide key ingredients to Tiger Brands. These include ground nuts, tomatoes, white maize, small white beans, sorghum, and wheat. The food giant is using Women’s Month to celebrate their contribution

South Africa’s biggest food producer is increasingly sourcing inputs from black women-owned enterprises across Mzansi. Tiger Brands now spends R4.2 billion of its annual procurement bill with black women-owned farms and other enterprises and says it is actively working to increase this number.

“Women entrepreneurs are playing a key role in providing either services or goods to Tiger Brands,” the food giant says. “Black women farmers, in particular, are a fundamental source of agricultural commodities used for the production of some of Tiger Brands’ most iconic and well-loved brands, including KOO, All Gold, Black Cat and ACE.”

At least 70 women farmers provide key ingredients to Tiger Brands. These include ground nuts, tomatoes, white maize, small white beans, sorghum, and wheat.

At the same time, Tiger Brands helps to scale these women farmers to operate at a commercial level in South Africa.  

The company says it is using the opportunity presented by Women’s Month to celebrate the black women-owned agricultural enterprises and women-owned smallholder farmers who are breaking through barriers to achieve commercial operating status with its support as all of the form part of the Tiger Brands supply chain and contribute to creating thousands of jobs in their local communities.

“It fills us with great pride that South Africa’s most iconic homegrown brands have powerful and motivated women behind them who not only run their own businesses as successful entrepreneurs, but also create employment and bring positive change in the lives of others and communities,” says Mary-Jane Morifi, chief corporate affairs and sustainability officer at Tiger Brands.

“Their passion, hard work and love for agriculture goes into growing the key ingredients we use to produce loved brands that satisfy the tastes of our consumers.”

Family food security

Women farmers are also making a critical contribution to tackling household food security in South Africa where research indicates that more than 12 million people go hungry every day. Children are the most vulnerable.

“If we are going to tackle the issue of food insecurity in a sustainable manner, it is agriculture that we need to look to, because farms and farmers produce the food that feeds the people,” says Morifi. “It’s important that large organisations like Tiger Brands support the sector and build the capacity and capability of farmers so that they are well-equipped to ensure that all South Africans have access to a healthy and nutritious meal every day.” 

Tiger Brands Aggregator Agriculture Programme

Farmers forming part of Tiger Brands’ Agriculture Aggregator Programme are supported to grow at scale and operate at a commercial level. Tiger Brands provides aggregators with market access and the opportunity to receive input finance, agrarian and technical support. Aggregators, in turn, enter into agreements with multiple smallholder farmers to procure the volume of agricultural raw materials required by Tiger Brands. 

Mpumi Maesela and Lusanda Moletsane are two of Tiger Brands’ most successful women agriculture aggregators.

Mpumi Maesela, director of SE Holdings, has been a Tiger Brands agriculture aggregator since 2020 and has since supplied Tiger Brands with A-grade small white beans. Maesela works closely with smallholder farmers across KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, North West, Limpopo and the Free State to procure Tiger Brands commodities and provides them with agri-fundamentals to support growing businesses.

Maesela is from rural Eastern Cape and says that, although her background is in the finance sector, her true passion is farming and her ambition is to make farming “cool”.

Lusanda Moletsane’s agri company, Khumo Ea Tsabo, also produces small white beans for Tiger Brands. In 2021, Moletsane’s two farming clusters in Nigel and Bronkhorstspruit yielded around 500 tonnes of produce.

Moletsane leans on her mentors for guidance, believing there is always something new to learn and says her aim is to help “feed the nation”.

Tiger Brands says it works consistently to help transform the South African agricultural sector through its Aggregator Programme and is continuously on the lookout for eligible black women farmers who, amongst other criteria, have a desire and passion for farming, as well as access to land with the required natural resources such as water.

Women farmers bolster Tiger Brands value chain – Food For Mzansi

Tiger Brands’ agriculture aggregator programme – growing more than just crops

Tiger Brands recently invited media to the North West province to visit one of the businesses supplying Black-run farms. Here, we got to meet some of Tiger Brands’ most successful agriculture business owners and woman aggregator farmers who supply the business with not just white maize for Ace, but small white beans for Koo and ground nuts for Black Cat Peanut Butter.

The farm visit also explored Tiger Brand’s broader Agriculture Aggregator model initiative which aims at increasing the number of participating Black small-scale farmers participating in the company’s value chain, by having these farmers work directly with an aggregator, that provides technical and management skills.

The model, which was launched in 2019, has created 834 permanent and seasonal jobs. With the aim of growing the number of Black suppliers for the company holistically, the programme has supported 157 small Black farmers and raised R46m in funding.

How the model does this

The aggregator programme pairs small-scale farmers with expert Black-owned farming companies known as aggregators. These aggregators provide technical and management skills to small-scale farmers, allowing them to receive the necessary support to contribute to Tiger company’s value chain.

As fully-fledged business entities, aggregators procure from multiple Black farmers and enter into commercial agreements with corporates such as Tiger Brands, for example, providing better guarantees on tonnages, delivery timeframes and quality standards.

The company, in turn, supports aggregators with input finance, offtake agreements and agrarian and technical support that is also extended to Black smallholder farmers.

Tacking food security

Tiger Brands has also been actively working towards achieving greater food security where it operates while building an inclusive economy. Through its Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) programmes, the company has been focused on growing Black suppliers within the value and supply chain of the company to create jobs and drive inclusive growth.

One such supplier is Mpumi Maesela. Maesela, a young farmer and the director of SE Holdings joined the programme in 2020; since, her business has supplied Tiger Brands with over 90% of its a-grade small white bean requirement.

Maesela also works closely with smallholder farmers across KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, North West, Limpopo and Free State to produce Tiger Brand’s commodities and provides them with agri-fundamentals to support growing businesses.

“Being in the Tiger Brands Aggregator Programme has enabled SE Holdings to sustainably grow as a small aggregator alongside its network of farmers through providing pre-production planning and planting scheduling training to meet standards and quality specifications, holistic farming support, financial management, and everything in between to enable small-holder farmers to practice good agronomical practices.

“It has been life-changing for the small-scale farmers who are majority youth and women. They ordinarily have no access to technical support, production inputs finance, mechanisation and offtake to work their lands. The programme provides holistic support to the farmers,” says Maesela.

Securing agricultural supply

ESD is central to the strategic future of the company, which aims to increase its procurement spend with Black agriculture and non-agricultural enterprises, secure agricultural food supply within South Africa through localised sourcing, and develop production and financial capacity of Black-owned enterprises through the provision of procurement access, financial and technical support.

ESD programmes, which also support the development of direct and indirect suppliers, include:

• The Dipuno Enterprise and Supplier Development Fund, a R100m fund that provides liquidity support for Black-owned direct and indirect suppliers, Black smallholder farming enterprises, and Black distributors who have secured procurement opportunities with Tiger Brands.

• The Market Access Accelerator, an incubation support initiative that drives the support of Black-owned and Black women-owned enterprises to commercialise their businesses and expose them to market opportunities.

The support includes business training, compliance support, business governance, technical support, tendering, and bid support to enable them to access procurement opportunities within the company’s supply chain, value chain, and distribution chain.

• The Channel Development Programme, which aims to provide capacity-building support to emerging Black distributors to enable them to drive the distribution of Tiger Brands products in under-serviced markets. These markets include informal/spaza markets, sector-focused distribution, township food services, and private sector food services suppliers.

“More households in South Africa are under increased financial pressure of late and hunger is a challenge that millions continue to battle every day. As one of Africa’s largest food producers, Tiger Brands has a responsibility to work towards achieving greater food security in vulnerable households and in a manner that is sustainable for all,” says Mary-Jane Morifi, chief corporate affairs and sustainability officer, Tiger Brands.

“The farmers that we work with through our Agriculture Aggregator Programme and who are supported by our Dipuno Enterprise and Supplier Development Fund with financial and technical expertise, are a fundamental part of bringing to life our purpose to nurture and nourish more lives every day.

“If we are to actively work for the relief of hunger within local communities, building a sustainable agricultural sector in South Africa is imperative.

“Through our Enterprise and Supplier Development programmes we want to create a more inclusive environment for farmers in South Africa with equal opportunity to participate at a level that makes a quantifiable difference in the lives of those less advantaged,” adds Morifi.

Tiger Brands’ agriculture aggregator programme – growing more than just crops (bizcommunity.com)

Ex-banker empowers farmers from rural areas

Mpumi Maesela’s passion for empowering female farmers drove her out of her job as a banker to agriculture.

After spending many years working as a banker for the Women’s Development Bank – which focuses on funding and empowering women in business, especially in rural areas – she wanted to do more to help.

Many rural women farm and Maesela decided that getting these subsistence and small-scale farmers to work together to grow enough of each crop to attract commercial buyers was the best way to empower them.

She says it also bothered her that fertile land was unused because the community did not have the money and resources to start farming.

Promoting farming was her way of helping communities grow their own food and earn an income.

Maesela left her job and went to Spain, where she learnt strategies to uplift rural farmers.

On her return in 2014, she founded SE Holdings, which helps women farmers with technical knowledge, funding, skills and market access.

The company also owns heavy agricultural equipment that it makes available to farmers.

In addition, Maesela has built a network of markets, including food manufacturers and supermarkets, to ensure the farmers can sell their produce.

She and her team of 15 work closely with more than 150 emerging and commercial farmers across KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, North West, Limpopo and the Free State.

“Although SE Holdings does not currently own farms, we do have a small plot where we conduct trials to assist our farmers in producing high-quality harvests. We also provide internships for graduates in agriculture,” Maesela says.

If you want assistance from SE Holdings, your land must be accessible, fenced, have access to water and must have recently been farmed.

You must have a basic business plan and record of what farming you have done on your land.

“Even if you failed somewhere along the way, you must show us so we can intervene and show you where you need to improve.”

Maesela says farmers have to repay their loans once they start making a profit. However, she says that because SE Holdings helps them secure a market, they should soon be profitable.

She is currently in talks with the department of agriculture and rural development to form partnerships, particularly to assist beneficiaries of land reform programmes.

https://www.sowetanlive.co.za/sebenza-live/2022-11-01-ex-banker-empowers-farmers-from-rural-areas/