UCOOK has announced a new initiative aimed at closing the loop between young farming entrepreneurs, agri-processors and the end consumer. Named Khulisa Amafama, meaning ‘grow farmers’, the initiative has been developed in partnership with the Philippi Economic Development Initiative (PEDI) and development organisation Abalimi Bezekhaya (meaning ‘farmers of the home”).
Khulisa Amafama is a pilot project to work with four urban farms – Feed the Khaltsha, Thunariso, Abathethi and Nonkululeko – that are representative of a larger group of emerging production farmers in the Cape Flats. The goals of the initiative include providing one-on-one mentorship and skills training to improve harvest quality, helping to reach PGS organic standards, helping to increase farm productivity and contribute to food security and community upliftment.
UCOOK co-CEO Peter Allerstorfer says that as the world’s largest economic sector, agriculture supports billions of livelihoods. “In South Africa, market access is an important intervention point for smaller producers as it leads to an increase in income, enhances food security and provides opportunities for further enterprise development,” says Allerstorfer. “Through the development of a production framework that suits the needs of UCOOK, we are able to further provide secure market access for these farmers.”
UCOOK soon realised that small-scale farmers faced another issue. “Despite supporting a network of small scale farmers for many years now by consistently purchasing their products, the farmers have largely been unable to grow their businesses and move out of subsistence farming,” says Amy Murgatroyd, programme manager for the initiative. “We identified the need to provide them with additional support, and Khulisa Amafama was born.”
“Abalimi has been supporting small-scale farmers in the townships for 38 years and market access is an essential to allow these farmers to grow,” says Grace Stead, MD at Abalimi. “Through providing a structured mentoring programme, support with infrastructure and resources, as well as a secure market, we believe that this partnership will help the farmers to grow, while providing organically grown vegetables to UCOOK via PEDI.”
UCOOK, PEDI and Abalimi Bezekhaya have engaged with the candidate farmers to define a production plan that spans over a 12-month period and takes into account farm suitability, seasonality and UCOOK’s – as the major purchaser of produce – market needs.
“The pilot will be treated as a research project, prioritising reflection and progress reporting. The final data will be used for further programme development, with the aim of rolling it out to a larger group of farmers,” says Allerstorfer.
