Investing in small farmers will grow SA’s pie

SMALL-scale farming is an integral part of growing our economy. In developing countries, such as SA, investing in and improving smallscale farms is an underestimated step in empowering rural communities to contribute to the economy.

Reassuringly, investment in small-scale farms is gradually becoming a priority for local companies.

According to a report by the German Agency for International Cooperation, 500-million small-scale farms feed about 2-billion people globally. Some of these small, local farmers supply the majority of Africa’s food needs by feeding their families and communities, even in the most demanding of conditions.

According to former deputy agriculture minister Pieter Mulder, 85% of African farms were smaller than two hectares, compared with only 4% in other parts of the world. Considering that commercial farms produce 95% of SA’s food, according to Statistics SA, there is little concern that investing in the remaining 5% could reduce the profitability of the commercial industry.

If we take sugar cane farming in SA as an example, there are about 24,000 registered growers, of which 1,413 are large-scale growers that produce 84% of all sugar cane. Milling companies with their own sugar estates produce another 8% of the crop. This leaves small-scale farmers producing only 8% of SA’s sugar crop. These small-scale farmers face numerous challenges, including ignorance about the use of hazardous agro-chemicals, changing weather patterns and an ageing farmer population. Action is therefore needed to ensure that these small-scale farmers maintain a reliable sugar supply for business to purchase to ensure a sustainable future for them, their families and surrounding communities.

What is the benefit of investing in small-scale farms? First, we cannot ignore the benefit to these farmers and their communities. Investing in these small businesses can increase their productivity, thereby providing more food for rural communities and ultimately making the farms more profitable. In a developing country with high unemployment and poverty, this is an important benefit but it is not the only one.

Investing in the education of environmental management of smallscale farms is an important aspect. This includes educating farmers about the harmful chemicals that may traditionally be used in the area; evaluation of soil erosion and education on how to mitigate this; waste management and ensuring that the community water source is not being polluted. By ensuring that these basic environmental management criteria are met, farms will become more productive (through less wastage and decreased soil erosion); the communities and the farmers will be protected from potentially harmful chemicals; and, in our resourcerestricted world, there will be a positive effect on the environment.

There are also economic benefits. For small-scale farmers to contribute to food security, they need to be profitable and sustainable by increasing their cash crops. Investment in smallscale farms can assist in achieving this goal, which in the long term can have a positive effect on the economy. By creating more self-sufficient communities, we lessen the burden on the government to decrease poverty and malnutrition in rural communities. It also fosters small-business development, which could see rural areas grow into profitable towns.

SA spends billions on importing food, which could be drastically reduced by increasing the produce farmed locally. The government encourages locally purchased produce not only to increase profitability for the farmer, but also to decrease the food that needs to be imported.

In August, Tiger Brands agreed with the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries that it would purchase certain crops from local, small-scale farms. If SA’s largest consumer foods maker can see the long-term benefits of investing in small-scale farmers, other brands are sure to follow suit.

Baldo is the executive director of Fairtrade Label SA.

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