Get it fresh from the farm
Knysna farmers struggling to get their products into the consumer market have devised a new and efficient way to reach customers using social media.
A Knysna resident, Rita de Swardt, has created a Telegram and WhatsApp group for farmers to advertise their produce.
This type of marketing helps consumers get many of their products at a cheaper price because it cuts out the middleman.
De Swardt said the idea is not originally hers and that there are several similar social media groups. “The areas or towns that have started are doing quite well with this and it was just strange to me that our area is not on the list of towns that have the group. That is the reason I wanted to start this group,” she said.
“Some of these farmers deliver their products to the clients or have someone that delivers it. Some of their products are also cheaper than at the shop and that helps both the farmers and the public to survive during the lockdown,” De Swardt said.
Before she started the group, she said, the nearest groups to offer the service were located in George and Mossel Bay.
“I believe we have a lot of small and big farms in Knysna that will benefit from this idea. The name of the WhatsApp group is Koop By Boere CX and Koop Direk van Boere Sedgefield/Knysna/Plett for the Telegram group,” she said.
De Swardt invites people who would like to partake in this initiative to join on Telegram: https://t.me/joinchat/ AAAAAEzypl8w1XAENyVOCg or on WhatsApp: https://chat.whatsapp.com/ HG5L89WTtZpJGN4SjQzlQv.