Farmer's Weekly (South Africa)
Field Notes from a New Farmer
The COVID-19 lockdown has triggered greater consumer interest in purchasing fresh produce direct from the farm. This, in turn, has resulted in online businesses popping up offering a fresh produce home delivery service. Farmers, it seems, are losing out o
When the lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) began, many business owners were faced with the uncertainty of whether or not their businesses would survive the initial three-week lockdown period. Their stress was increased when President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the lockdown would be extended by another month.
Even though certain businesses, such as agriculture, were exempted and could operate on levels 5 and 4, the agricultural value chain spreads across many businesses, leaving few unaffected.
We also saw the true spirit of ubuntu amongst South Africans, with farmers, for example, donating food parcels of fresh fruit and vegetables to the most vulnerable communities.
But what I also could not help noticing was the emergence of new online businesses offering to supply fresh produce directly to households. Even some of the market agents I communicated with during this time confirmed the increase of private individuals procuring fresh produce in bulk.
The online industry has been around for years, of course, with many entrepreneurs using it to provide convenient, practical solutions to real-life problems and even attracting investors to fund these businesses. With COVID-19, more entrepreneurs have appeared to deliver fresh produce in response to demand.
Do an Internet search for ‘online fresh produce delivery services’, and you will see a list of companies delivering fresh fruits and vegetables, some organic, straight to your door. Their value proposition, apart from the convenience, is that the produce is sourced directly from farmers.
ENTREPRENEURS, NOT FARMERS
It’s also unsurprising to find that the founders and owners of these online start-ups are not farmers, but entrepreneurs who saw a gap on the market where consumers wanted to procure food directly from farms rather than a typical retail channel.
It’s a simple concept, but with a tech element incorporated into the business model.
It’s no secret that the lockdown has posed serious challenges to farmers despite farming being considered an essential service. Due to the closure of schools, restaurants, hotels and other venues, the lockdown has been a trying time for farmers with contracts with such institutions and organisations.
With this in mind, I ask the following: why, with these markets currently closed to us, are farmers not starting their own online delivery services of fresh produce and selling directly to their customers? Why do we leave such opportunities to individuals who don’t even farm?
THE OWNERS OF THE ONLINE DELIVERY START- UPS ARE NON- FARMING ENTREPRENEURS; WHERE ARE THE FARMERS?
Understandably, starting an online business is no walk in the park. Some investment is required, and considerable effort has to be spent on marketing and advertising on an online platform. An e-commerce site/app, for example, is needed to convert curious shoppers into produce buyers when they land on your site.
Maintaining the cold chain into the logistics part of the business will also need strategic thinking and planning.
But none of these criteria is impossible to overcome; we already see many successful partnerships and collaboration, such as Uber and retailers, working together to deliver groceries to customers. If these examples can work, why can’t we as farmers also collaborate with existing channels to secure a larger footprint for our produce?
Many business analysts have predicted that the old ways of doing business may be left behind after COVID-19 has passed, and have encouraged business owners to revisit their business models and change certain elements if necessary to become more sustainable in the long run.