Photo by: Bloomberg
The Western Cape province has, in partnership with the National Treasury and the deciduous fruit industry, established the Deciduous Fruit Development Chamber (DFDC) Commercialisation Programme, which will disburse R120-million in funding to emerging fruit farmers to grow their businesses to commercial status.
The R120-million grant, which was secured through the Jobs Fund and which would be disbursed over a four-year period, would benefit 20 deciduous fruit farmers from the Western Cape, as well as four farmers in the Eastern Cape.
“The money will be used to renew and expand orchards, buy production equipment and for farming infrastructure. In the Western Cape, we have the goal of ensuring a 70% success rate of the land reform projects we invest in and this is why we are supporting this project,” Western Cape Economic Opportunities Minister Alan Winde said in a statement published on Thursday.
Horticultural knowledge group Hortgro would support the DFDC of South Africa in the operational execution of the programme.
“We are confident that the beneficiaries of this project will be able to graduate into the mainstream commercial sector after the four-year programme. This will not only increase the production footprint and ensure increased market access of our black farmers in the deciduous fruit industry, but will also enhance their participation in the off-farm value chain of the sector.
“This project will also create 504 new permanent jobs and will, ultimately, allow space for new entrants to enter the sector,” said DFDC chairperson Pitso Sekhoto.
The 24 farmers were selected based on the potential for commercialisation and job creation.