Agribusiness Perspective: Determined to succeed, young black farmers are reshaping the agriculture sector

Over the past two decades or more, the South African government has come up with a number of programmes and initiatives that were meant to foster and fast-track the participation and inclusion of new black agripreneurs in the commercial farming and agribusiness sectors.

Every year, government reiterates its commitment to harnessing youth involvement in agricultural value chains to improve food security, reduce youth unemployment, and transform the sector.

Despite these numerous programmes and initiatives (with only a few having been implemented effectively) and government’s undertakings, one thing is clear: politicians will always play at politics, leaving many aspiring agripreneurs to forge ahead into uncharted territory without the help of government.

Not all those with aspirations to get into the sector have the means to address the insurmountable barriers they face, including the upfront start-up costs of a farming or agribusiness operation.

Their progress is thus impossible without government support. Yet for many, this support has also proven impossible to access!

As a result, many emerging farmers struggle to become integrated into the commercial agriculture sector.

A FULFILLING PATH

Despite these challenges, starting an agribusiness is a rewarding avenue for a growing number of young entrepreneurs. This is due to the fact that, globally, the sector is one of the most dynamic, offering a multitude of opportunities to young and tech-savvy entrepreneurs along the entire agricultural value chain.

Interestingly, some of the young agripreneurs who are on the market and doing extremely well has no prior experience in or exposure to the agriculture sector.

What drives them is the growing opportunities offered by the sector, some of which manifested during the misfortunes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

INNOVATIVE FARMING

Fundamentally, the young black agripreneurs disrupting the sector, especially those in the fresh produce industry, are driven by a passion and entrepreneurial spirit to succeed with less reliance on government resources.

Despite the high level of capital required to start an agribusiness, most of these agripreneurs have left formal employment either voluntarily or otherwise, taken their hard-earned pensions and invested in innovative agricultural activities, including indoor urban hydroponics, vertical farming, and on-land shadenetting farming operations.

Most of these activities rely heavily on technology and use up to 70% less water than traditional farms. These farming practices change the microclimate, improving crop performance.

For a country like South Africa, where agriculture continues to play an important role in the economy, but is fully exposed to extreme weather events associated with climate change, these innovative farming practices could, in part, be the country’s long-term solution to remaining food secure.

It is clear, at any rate, that the adoption (and success) of these farming practices by a growing number of agripreneurs is reshaping the sector, which for decades has been driven mainly by white (and very few black) commercial farmers who are the envy of the world.

URBAN FARMING

What is striking about most of the farming practices mentioned, and is perhaps the one element that primarily attracts a certain group of young people, is the fact that a large area of land and a rural location are not a necessity.

Most agripreneurs, especially those involved in the production of fresh produce crops, are scaling up significantly and strategically locating their facilities near to or in urban hubs to capitalise on the growing demand for local food, regardless of the season. In addition, despite the relatively small size of these facilities, the yields from indoor urban hydroponics, vertical farming, and on-land shade-netting operations show that they can be around 10 times more efficient than traditional agricultural practices, which obviously adds to their attraction.

Lastly, although these new farming practices do not promise to turn the agriculture sector on its head, they are often associated with city and urban farming because of their ability to thrive in limited space, allowing those young people who have the resources or the ability to acquire capital to innovate, reshape and expand the current agribusiness base, while maximising crop yields and reducing labour costs. Hamlet Hlomendlini is an agricultural economist. Email him at hamlethlom@gmail.com.

MOST OF THESE AGRIPRENEURS HAVE THEIR FACILITIES CLOSE TO URBAN HUBS TO CAPITALISE ON THE DEMAND FOR LOCAL FOOD

Determined to succeed, young black farmers are reshaping the agriculture sector