INDUSTRY NEWS
B O C E H T N O BORN ers reap their Amazing women farm ort of SAB first harvest with supp
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omen-in-Maize, a multimillion rand investment by the South African Breweries (SAB), the Department of Small Business Development and the Agricultural Research Council (ARC), supporting the empowerment of women-run maize farms, has begun its first successful harvest season. The harvest event took place at Ekangala Primary Cooperative in Bronkhorstspruit outside Johannesburg on 27 May. The Minster of the Department of Small Business Development, Ms Lindiwe Zulu has adopted Women-in-Maize as one her department’s flagship empowerment programmes. Harvesting on the 11 participating cooperative farms began at the start of May and ended in mid-June, following the planting season in November 2015. Women-in-Maize is aimed at addressing some of the challenges encountered by smallholding emerging farmers in rural and township communities, such as access to market, entry into big business supply chains, access to finance and participation in the formal economy. Participating Women-in-Maize farmers are assisted with skills improvement, financing, training and access to markets, most importantly being included in SAB’s supply chain. To quote Minister Zulu, “This initiative is an example of how much we can achieve when government and the private sector work together. We are confident that this partnership will help us defeat the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality on the long-term. “My department is determined to empower women-owned enterprises to participate meaningfully in the economic mainstream. The task of ensure that the Ekangala Cooperative and other across the country grow and thrive, rests on our collective shoulders.”
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