​The Dlamini Hall in Soweto was filled with the vibrant colours of spinach, carrot and beetroot. Blossoming sunflowers and herbs such as basil, mint and thyme filled the hall with pleasant fragrances.

The City of Johannesburg Social Development Department, in conjunction with various stakeholders hosted a food expo on Friday, 26 October 2018, to create a platform for emerging farmers to network and sell fresh produce directly to consumers.

The food expo is also a platform for residents of Joburg to get information on how to plant vegetable, fruit and herb gardens.
Almost five years ago, the City of Joburg realised that many families in the City where going hungry. It established the Food Resilience Unit in order to promote sustainable agriculture that would curb hunger, malnutrition and create jobs.

Almost 805 million people worldwide live with chronic hunger, 60% women and almost five million children under the age of five die of malnutrition-related causes every day. The City’s urban agriculture program has already established more than 300 cooperatives.

Some of the other initiatives that have been established by the Food Resilience Unit are communal gardens, rooftop gardens, food empowerment zones and agri-resource centres.

The City’s urban agriculture programme has done more than just contribute to food security and job creation. It has also contributed to the rehabilitation of drug addicts. At the food expo, some of the farmers selling fresh produce were former drug addicts who attended the City’s rehab programme and received farming skills as part of their rehabilitation.

Vusi Nkosi, a former drug addict and now emerging farmer, is a living testimony that with the right opportunities people can turn their lives around.

“I didn’t think anybody cared about me. The City has changed my life. I can now provide income for my family responsibly,” said Nkosi.
Some of the farmers at the food expo such as Moeketsi Makhetha have only been in the farming business for six months but due to the support of the City, he is already producing over 800 chicken eggs a week.