The Joburg Market plans to invest about R6.5-million rands a year into the Small Scale Farmers (SSF) transformation programme as it moves to re-invent itself and diversify its service offering.
The financial muscle availed to SSFs is anticipated to bring economic growth opportunities in the industry.
The market and its stakeholders, including agencies and fresh produce businesses plan to procure a Joburg Market Cold Truck that will collect produce at aggregation points in Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the North West to deliver for retail in City Deep.
The market also plans to offer its nationally accredited laboratory to small scale farmers at no cost, enabling them to test their produce before selling. The entity will offer product promotions for SSFs along with training on produce handling and cold chain management. It will also lobby for funding for post-harvest facilities at the point of sale such as a Market Pack House.
At a recently held Pilot Transformation Project meeting, two of Joburg Market’s stakeholders, RSA and King Fresh said they each had refrigerated trucks available to lend to small scale farmers, but a usage agreement needed to precede the deal.
The market’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Sifiso Dlamini has drafted a policy to procure the truck, including the usage of a grant system, a donation, through Corporate Social Investment, a joint venture and public-private ownership.
However, Dlamini said that to pilot the project immediately, the market needed a grant and/or a donation and promised that further discussions would be had with various stakeholders to discuss accountability, cost incurrence and logistics on the use of the truck.
In addition, the entity, which has two trucks currently not in operation, would commission an in-depth investigation to ascertain if these can be used to pilot the project.
In a bid to circumvent hurdles to the pilot, the market and its stakeholders will first assess the feasibility of collecting produce from every small scale farm to the entity, as it was feared that navigating farm locations and accessing roads could prove a challenge.
“The entity has identified Mogale City as a potential first collection point for the pilot phase. Further discussions will be had with farmers across Gauteng, as the project aims to pilot its offerings in all quadrants of the province,” said Dlamini.
There’s a possibility of making the market’s laboratory services mobile, with the pop-up lab travelling with the collection truck and samples being picked up on location, while training is provided at the collection point.
The market has since appointed agents that will create a qualification criterion for small scale farmers and also identify farmers who are already cable charged and have been sending produce to the market.
“We need a qualification criterion for an SSF and a defined number of targeted farmers such as those who are already bringing produce to the market. This is because it would defeat the purpose if high volumes of produce were collected but not being shipped-off the trading floor quick enough,” Dlamini explained.
Small-scale farmers produce crops and rear livestock on smallholdings, in fringe areas with little to no financial assistance and without sophisticated and expensive technology. This type of farming usually requires intensive labour and is more strenuous than that of commercial farmers. Most SSFs struggle to make a meaningful economic contribution because of a shortage of technical skills, capacity and experience.
Small scale farmers also lack access to arable land, markets, and finance due to high input costs required for production and collateral, even then, there are more challenges for those who can access markets. With inconsistent cash flow, adopting new methods of production becomes a challenge and so does packaging and logistics which cause an even bigger problem when having to compete with large enterprises.
The City-owned entity is looking to address the lack of access to funding for farmers, with possible collaborations with financial institutions and other prospective investors on the cards.
Written by Londiwe Mthethwa
