Farmer's Weekly (South Africa)
Potatoes SA seeks to boost Western Cape farmers
The Western Cape Department of Agriculture (the department) and Potatoes South Africa recently signed a three-year memorandum of understanding (MoU) in which both parties committed to grow the industry to advance economic growth and job opportunities.
Western Cape Minister of Agriculture Dr Ivan Meyer said that the department’s commodity approach was central to the MoU. This consisted of a partnership with commodity organisations, such as Potatoes SA, and commercial farmers to prevent a duplication of efforts and to strengthen support rendered to land reform beneficiaries.
Dr Mogale Sebopetsa, head of the department, told Farmer’s Weekly that the MoU undertook to build capacity, facilitate access to markets, and offer skills development programmes to enable mentorship to land reform beneficiaries.
So far, there were 32 farmers, situated across the province, who would benefit from the programmes. The farmers did not only produce potatoes, as potatoes needed to be rotated with other crops to reduce disease risks.
Sebopetsa said that the potato industry on the whole, and especially in the Sandveld where high inputs were required because of the sandy soil, was under pressure because of high input costs, climate change and loadshedding. In spite of these challenges, however, farmers still managed to find ways to keep food on the table.
Willie Jacobs, CEO of Potatoes South Africa, said that the organisation was actively looking for partnerships with government and development agencies to work closer to ensure the success of land reform beneficiaries and emerging farmers.
Last year, Potatoes South Africa, established similar types of agreements with government departments and development agencies in Limpopo and the Eastern Cape. –