Farmer's Weekly (South Africa)
Applications now open for Gauteng agri department’s Agroprocessing Scheme
The Agroprocessing Scheme aims to assist rural and township enterprises to enter agri value chains.
The Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARD) invites interested farmers or smalland medium- agroprocessing enterprises (SMEs) to apply for participation in the Gauteng Agroprocessing Scheme. GDARD will offer successful applicants support in terms of constructing, purchasing or maintaining infrastructure, machinery or equipment, which will allow these applicants to better participate in the Gauteng Agroprocessing Scheme and the agroprocessing sector.
This scheme aims to assist rural and township enterprises that operate in the agriculture and agroprocessing sectors to enter the mainstream agricultural value chain.
Successful candidates will enter into a contractual agreement with the Investment Committee. This contract serves as an authentic, legal record of rights and obligations between GDARD and the successful candidate.
Criteria
An applicant must meet the following criteria:
• Must be ‘black’ as defined in the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act 53 of 2003; • Must provide proof of being a South African citizen, as well as that he/she resides in Gauteng. Proof in this regard includes a certified copy of the applicant’s ID and proof of residence no older than three months;
• Must show willingness to participate in the project and must unconditionally identify with the project’s objectives; • Must provide proof that he/she is already active in the agriculture or agroprocessing sectors;
• Must provide proof that he/she has access to the property where he/she will run the business; • Must be willing to participate in capacity building and training programmes;
• Must be a registered legal entity and show compliance with all applicable laws;
• Must be prepared to sign a contract with GDARD, which will allow the department to access the entity’s financial records upon request, and will give the department a right to withdraw the support provided if the initial conditions as stated in the application no longer exist or apply;
• In the case that companies, trusts or co-operatives (group applications) apply, the relevant, mandated person must complete the form and submit proof of mandate.
The following must accompany the application to be considered eligible:
• A business plan, which clearly indicates the short-, medium-, and long-term viability of the enterprise. The business plan must also include financial projections for between three and five years. Current financial documents must be added as an annexure to the submission; • Proof of property ownership or rights under a lease/caretaker agreement, a short description and utilisation history of the property, as well as a short profile of the applicant.
Further criteria
• The property that the applicant proposes as premises for his/her operation must be well secured and must have access to sufficient bulk services such as water and electricity; • Applications will be considered in line with the five priority value chains as outlined in the Agroprocessing Strategy. These value chains include fruit and vegetables, grain milling, poultry, pork and red meat processing;
The closing date for applications is 30 November 2018. If you have not received a response within 60 days after the closing date, please consider your application unsuccessful.
Applications can be found on the GDARD website at gauteng. gov.za, and must be submitted to the following officials at the following addresses:
• Randfontein: W Mabusela, 7 Maughan Street.
Phone 011 411 4300;
• Germiston: S Maoba, 56 Eloff Street, 2nd floor of the Annex Building, Umnotho House. Phone 011 821 7700; • Pretoria: K Bopapa, 590 Madiba Street, Arcadia. Phone 012 316 1600; • GDARD head office: F Mokagadi, 56 Eloff Street, Umnotho House, Johannesburg. Phone 011 240 2677.