Land rights are an integral part of human rights Solving for hunger and agriculture sustainability with the platform economy

Land rights are an integral part of human rights

This year marks a watershed moment in South Africa’s history when the country commemorates the death of 69 people who were killed, and hundreds wounded, when police opened fire on a crowd protesting for the abolition of repressive pass laws.

This historic day on 21 March 1960 has come to symbolise the relentless struggle for human rights and the restoration of human dignity for the indigenous African population who were forcibly displaced from their land through draconian and racially discriminatory laws.

Despite the repealing of repressive legislation such as the Land Act of 1913 – which allowed successive Nationalist governments to forcibly take large tracts of land from black people -– and the promulgation of progressive laws aimed at redressing the wrongs of the past and restitution of land to its rightful owners, limited progress has been achieved to change the racially skewed land ownership patterns in South Africa.

“Integral to the commemoration of Human Rights Day should be the need to acknowledge that the land reform programme forms the nucleus of human rights in South Africa,” says Peter Setou, Chief Executive of the Vumelana Advisory Fund. Vumelana is a non-profit organisation that was established in 2012 to help beneficiaries of the land reform programme put their land to profitable use by establishing commercially viable partnerships between communities and investors.

According to Setou, the unresolved land question forms the cornerstone of centuries of struggle against colonialism and decades of resistance against institutionalised racism. Any celebration of human rights devoid of the resolution of the land question does not fully recognise the role played by the gallant men and women who formed part of the 1960 struggle that has resulted in the fundamental rights we enjoy today.

Setou points out that while the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has slowed down progress on land reform, as scarce resources were allocated to the relief programmes and to curb further transmission of the virus, it remains important to ensure that the drive to expedite land reform continues in order to restore dignity, which in some communities only the implementation of the required changes to land reform can resolve.

Setou notes that the announcement by Treasury that it will allocate R896.7 million to fund post settlement support, and the allocation of 700 000 hectares of underutilised and vacant state-owned land to black farmers, are welcome developments. In implementing post-settlement support, however, it remains important that all efforts are made to avoid repeating mistakes of the past. We need to carefully look at initiatives that have worked and replicate these. Furthermore, the way in which land is used should be profitable to the beneficiaries that these efforts seek to aid.

“It will be helpful if the state can shed more light on whether procedures announced provide safeguards against the process being captured by elites and what form of property rights will prevail. These are crucial issues that need to be addressed if this important gesture by government is to really benefit the intended recipients,” says Setou.

He further highlights that the current legislative reforms aimed at amending Section 25 of the Constitution by sourcing public input on the Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Bill are commendable. However, it is critical to note that legislative intervention alone will fall short of attaining the noble ambitions of addressing past injustices if lacklustre political and the structural impediments to land reforms remain intact. Failure to deal with matters requiring urgent attention will compound the problem, slow progress, and contribute towards rising dissatisfaction.

The importance of having policy certainty on the land reform programme cannot be overestimated, as it is a prerequisite to attract muchneeded investment by the private sector, but we should resist the temptation to believe that this will be a magic wand that will fast-track the land reform programme.

“The implementation of a successful and sustainable land reform programme cannot be divorced from human rights – the two are inextricably linked. Celebrations of human rights would be hollow for millions of black people so long as challenges in land reform remain unresolved,” Setou concludes.

GEA finds the right balance for organic dairy farm Camphill Village

A unique farm in South Africa reaches for its boutique dreams

For small organic dairy farms, finding the right level of automation is key. For Camphill Village in South Africa, updating to a smart GEA in-line milking parlor was the best solution for improving efficiency without losing the handson approach the unique farmers require in their daily work. Thanks to their efforts and the modernization of their milking parlor, residents of greater Cape Town have access to high-quality dairy and other farm-fresh foods year-round.

Camphill Village was established in 1964 as a residential facility, where today, nearly 100 adults with diverse disabilities and special needs are given an opportunity to lead a healthy and productive life. With challenges ranging from brain injuries, intellectual disabilities and down syndrome, Camphill provides its residents a safe haven where the focus is on getting “stuck in” by creating useful, value-added products.

Set on a 220-hectare farm near Philadelphia just north of Cape Town, the organization added a jersey dairy herd and milk processing facility to its operations in the late 1980s. Alongside it’s flourishing produce, herb and bakery activities, the Camphill Village dairy has continued to thrive over the years, providing organic dairy products for the residents and surrounding communities. The income from the dairy provides critical funds for the residents who live onsite full time and for paying the support staff. But increasing raw material handling and dairy production had remained a long-standing challenge for Camphill. The original milking equipment, purchased in the 1980s, was long overdue for an upgrade, along with the dairy processing facility which suffered from an outdated design hindering flow and processing efficiency.

A modern milking parlor that suits its special needs

The relationship between Camphill and GEA kicked off in 2018 when Camphill Farm Manager, Antonius Verhoeven, got a glimpse of GEA milking equipment in action at a trade fair. Soon after, a GEA Farm Technologies team began working closely with Camphill’s management team to find the right milking solution for their needs. The equipment and installation would need to deliver on: process optimization, ease of maintenance and repairs, improved hygiene and safety.

Two years later, with financial support from German NGO Rays of Hope and some goodwill investment from GEA, Camphill was able to replace its bucket milking system with an in-line “flat” milking system featuring a 1x8 point high line layout. This meant the new parlor could be installed without altering the existing building or major construction work. In this case, it was necessary that the milking equipment meet modern standards but without a high degree of automation since residents benefit from maintaining close contact with the cows during milking. In fact, this physical interaction is considered to have therapeutic benefits.

The integration of a system for recording milk enables the farm to automatically collect and store data about individual animals. This tool, coupled with the integration of DairyPlan Herd Management Software, allows the team to take informed decisions related to production, health and fertility and means they can effectively grow the milking herd over time.

“We chose GEA because their team patiently listened to and responded to our myriad of questions – kindly assisting us even before we had committed to purchasing anything. The installation was accompanied by friendly, easy to understand explanations of all the equipment as well as hands-on training for our people,” says Antonius Verhoeven, Estate Manager & Farm Manager, Camphill Village, describing the outstanding partnership with GEA.

Increased milk production and dairy processing output leads to stable income

Thanks to these important upgrades, which have improved availability and reliability parameters, the dairy operation at Camphill Village has a much higher throughput of milk products and provides a more stable income stream. Today, with just under 30 cows currently being milked out of a herd of 50, Camphill will finally be able to increase its milk production and dairy processing output.

James Sleigh, CEO, Camphill Village, sums up the common success: “Thanks to the excellent advice, service and equipment from GEA, our dairy operation has a more secure and bright future. As one of the economic engines of our organization, the dairy supports the important work of our residents and their ability to live purposefully, while providing the local communities with quality organic dairy products.”

Building on this solid foundation, Camphill would like to see their operation become a showcase that attracts more locals and those further afield, including tourists and other aspirational organic dairy farmers.

Solving for hunger and agriculture sustainability with the platform economy

The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated South Africa’s social challenges, mostly seen throughout the country by dramatic increases in hunger and malnutrition. The need for food relief is now greater than ever, with over 12 million South Africans unsure of where their next meal will come from.

At the same time, however, current estimates show that about 10 million tonnes or 30% of local agricultural production in South Africa is wasted each year. This is equivalent to an estimated R60 billion annually, or 2% of GDP.

Farmers are well aware of the dire need for food relief but feel unable to meet it without a clear mechanism to manage requests for donations and an efficient, quick, and transparent process to donate their produce.

Furthermore, the pandemic environment has significantly altered agricultural supply and demand. Through the closure of restaurants, school feeding schemes, farmers’ and fresh produce markets and reduced grocery shopping, the demand for fresh produce and other perishables, during levels 3-5 of lockdown, significantly shifted.

Emerging and smallholder farmers experienced disruptions to their supply chains. Farmers have, at times, been sitting with excess stock, and without buyers, this stock has been dumped or destroyed at cost to the farmer. Even in level 1, we will feel the effects for a while to come: with an additional 2.2 million people unemployed, travel still to return to normal levels, suppressed usage of the hospitality industry and many other contributing factors.

These challenges are by no means unique to SA and are being experienced by emerging markets across the continent. The pandemic environment has also pushed millions of Africans into poverty as incomes vanished, creating an overwhelming need for feed relief an assistance. Agribusinesses in Africa still face various challenges – of which access to market is a significant one. If one can create easy access to market, especially for smaller farmers, the risk of financial failure is reduced, and their economic activity can contribute to uplifting communities through employment.

While some buyers of produce may have disappeared, demand has not died. It has simply shifted, and supply chains have not been able to adapt fast enough. This has created an opportunity to help suppliers adapt by matching their excess supply to a different source of demand – the relief market.

Food insecurity for many was accentuated by Covid-19, but existed prior to the crisis, and given the dynamics of the economic reality, is likely to continue in some shape and form in the future.

The rise of the “platform economy” is one recent development that offers a way to tackle food relief and recreate markets for farmers in the post-Covid-19 recovery period. Embodied by the likes of Uber and Amazon, the platform model is driving efficiencies across various industries, including agriculture, and improving the lives of various stakeholders. It also has immense potential to deliver social impact in the current environment and beyond.

Standard Bank’s OneFarm Share, for instance, is safeguarding the sustainability of farmers while also contributing to food security. Matching the tremendous needs of organisations that provide food relief with farmers of all sizes with excess supply, OneFarm Share has the potential to contribute to driving sustainability of the agricultural sector and reducing hunger and malnutrition.

The OneFarm Share platform gives farmers and food producers access to a marketplace that coordinates the procurement and distribution of food to charities and their beneficiary organisations. Reducing poverty is arguably Africa’s greatest developmental challenge, and growing the agricultural sector is key to achieving a transformational impact. The continent boasts significant untapped agricultural potential that can solve for ever-increasing global food requirements.

In order to partake successfully in a global arena and to address important issues such as food security and limiting waste, it is critical that the full agricultural value chain is developed. This can effectively unlock processing, value add, and trade of products in favour of the continent.

It is impossible to overcome this alone. An ecosystem involving multiple players will ultimately close the gap. This is what motivated Standard Bank to pilot the OneFarm platform project in Uganda in 2019. The initiative brings together multiple players from within financial services and beyond to provide services to and connect players within the agricultural value chain. It is our vision as Africa’s largest financial services organisation to become leaders in providing and creating innovative solutions that help to grow key sectors on the continent and solve for key development issues such as poverty reduction.

We will continue to find new ways to support our clients and create a positive meaningful impact through innovative solutions. OneFarm Share, for example, supports the assistance of aiding the food security crisis in South Africa whilst aligning to Standard Bank’s positioning of doing business the right way.