Industry initiative the Citrus Growers Association’s (CGA’s) Grower Development Company (GDC) has allocated and spent R40-million in grant funding this year to support enterprise development of emerging citrus growers and their farms across South Africa through its Enterprise Development Grant Fund (EDGF).

The grant funding provides support to growers through the purchase of key production inputs, including fertiliser and chemicals required for farming.

"This is critical following exorbitant price hikes across a number of farming inputs this year, with fertiliser prices [having increased by] more than 56% between 2020 and 2021 owing to tight supplies, rising raw material costs, increased demand, logistics constraints and high freight rates. These price increases have hit smaller black growers the hardest," says industry body Citrus Growers' Association of Southern Africa CEO Justin Chadwick.

The GDC expects small developmental citrus growers will continue to be hard-hit by the rising pressure of increasing input costs over the next few years. It has allocated R141-million in EDGF funding between 2021 and 2024.

The funding made available to developmental growers is collected through an export levy paid yearly by CGA members to the GDC. The GDC then administers and allocates the funding through direct payments to service providers towards the successful enterprise development of black citrus growers and producers in South Africa.

"The CGA-GDC welcomes the continued support of bigger commercial growers through their commitment to pay annual levies to ensure that our sector supports smaller, developmental growers with access to funding to grow their enterprises sustainably," Chadwick says.

By supporting these growers with funding towards these critical inputs, the GDC also hopes to help mitigate the impact of other industry-wide challenges affecting the sustainability and profitability of developmental farms in the sector.

The challenges include reduced market access, as well as the highly stringent and costly phytosanitary regulations applied by the European Union, decaying public infrastructure, erratic electricity supply and a devastating decline in real export prices, he adds.

Further, with industry experts forecasting that less than 20% of the industry is likely to achieve above break-even returns at the end of this year, it is clear that the support and assistance offered by the GDC to smaller developmental growers will remain critical if South Africa wants to ensure the long-term survival of the businesses within the sector, Chadwick says.

In Limpopo, the EDGF has already assisted in the successful establishment and growth of Manini Holdings, which is owned by citrus grower Thabo Moripane. Moripane will use his grant funding to buy the inputs he requires to support his planted citrus trees while he works towards the establishment of an additional 70 ha of citrus, including 10 ha of Leanri soft citrus, 10 ha of seedless lemons, 40 ha of Nadorcott and 10 ha of Maayana soft citrus.

"Long-term, the EDGF will assist developmental growers with the capital required to procure production infrastructure, machinery, equipment and a range of horticultural products. The grant also aims to assist growers with the costs associated with the accreditation required, including legal and professional, towards the commercialisation of their fruit for export to foreign markets," Chadwick notes.

"The CGA-GDC looks forward to engaging more closely with the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development in the coming months to find sustainable solutions to help our developmental growers navigate the challenging times ahead, in order to ensure their long-term profitability and continued progress, with the overall aim of achieving inclusive transformation within the sector," he adds.