Millions flow from dairy for post-’94 landowners
NEW machinery, brand-new dairy helps AmaMfengu produce 1.4 million litres of milk between June and September
EASTERN CAPE RURAL Development and Agrarian Reform MEC Mlibo Qoboshiyane has hailed the commercial partnership between AmaMfengu and Johan du Plessis to commercially produce milk from the first land to be returned to claimants, which they sell to Parmalat through an off-take agreement, as an example of the radical economic transformation needed to grow the country’s economy and create jobs.
Qoboshiyane said this during the opening of the state-of-the-art dairy at the Wittekleibosch, which was constructed with the R32-million investment from his department. The new facility boasts a brand new 66-point rotary milking facility owned by the 152 AmaMfengu families that were evicted from their land by the apartheid government at the height of the Group Areas Act.
Qoboshiyane said there has been too much talk about the transformation of the country’s economy, with little or no actual transformation of the elements of the economy at times.
“Transformation of the economy is not just employing black people into management positions in whiteowned companies; it is not only buying shares for black people in the white-owned firms.
“As we see in this farm, it is about government investing into blackowned businesses, encouraging partnerships between South Africans to work together in their commercial businesses and removing market blockages so that all of us can benefit from the economic opportunities from this economy.
“For our economy to transform, black and white people must work together. Those who buy must open their markets to the producers, especially black agriculture producers.
“Those who invest and finance businesses, must be fair to all business people and their entities so that access to finance is given to people showing commitment to their business and because it is a viable and bankable business.
“If and when black people receive the same attention investors and financiers give to white people and their business ideas, they will be able to set up businesses that participate in the mainstream economy and not just businesses dependent on government tenders,” said Qoboshiyane.
The dairy facility opened by Qoboshiyane produces 16 000 litres of milk per day, which is sold to giant food producer Parmalat through an off-take agreement with the Wittekleibosch Dairy Trust.
“We applaud this commercial partnership and we want to use this facility to encourage other farmers in the province – black and white – to see sense in forging partnerships to continue agriculture production.
“Last year, our department took a decision to invest about R32-million into the construction of this state-ofthe-art milking parlor for these landowners. The reason to invest was because we saw the business viability of this dairy farm.
“We were attracted by the commitment that Wittekleibosch Dairy Trust members showed into growing their business.
“The fact that they signed an off-take agreement with Parmalat proved to us that they were committed to produce quality milk. They had to be supported,” said Qoboshiyane.
He added that prior to his department’s investment into construction of the new dairy, the farm was producing only 10 000 litres of milk from their old facility.
The funding of the dairy is part of the department's efforts to transform the province's agriculture economy through partnerships with commodity groups.