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There’s a huddle of men and women in green overalls around a broken-down tractor in the middle of a mealie field. The field is on the side of the road at Dithini, near Khonjwayo village, Lambasi, near Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape.
The group is focused on getting the tractor going so they can load 98 tons of yellow maize on to trucks. The maize is the Fundirite’s agricultural collective’s second successful harvest.
Some of the maize, sold in offset agreements with Farmwise Grains, will end up with a cereal producer and end up in your breakfast bowl.
There’s a heavy smell of diesel in the air as the tractor engine catches and a stream of golden kernels pours out of the augur attached to it, and into the truck bed.
A cheer erupts among the group of workers, who are part of a group of 490 small farmers who fall under Lambasi Farms, a mechanised agricultural project sponsored by Anglo American Zimele – the mining company’s enterprise development arm – in partnership with the National Treasury’s Jobs Fund.
The farmers are keen to make sure their maize, which they grow with sugar beans and soya, gets to Farmwise and on to the market. They get a share in the profits from its sale, along with R700 per hectare for the use of their land.
The project, set up two years ago, covers 900 hectares of land, previously farmed on a subsistence level. Farming and marketing expertise is provided by agricultural nongovernmental organisation TechnoServe, using R14 million in funding provided by Anglo American.
Hlonela Lupuwana-Pemba, managing director of Anglo American Zimele says: “Through the Lambasi initiative, we wanted to build a model to demonstrate that socioeconomic development is possible even in depressed areas. Conscious stimulation of supply and demand for enterprises, through agriculture in particular, contributes to rural development.
“South Africa’s agricultural sector has the potential to create 1 million jobs by 2030. To achieve this goal, we need to replicate sustainable community-based projects like Lambasi. It is only through partnerships – with other private sector players, government and communities – that we will be able to achieve this.”
A board of directors, which includes the local traditional leader, chief Mthuthuzeli Mkwedini, runs the project.
TechnoServe will pull out of the project after five years, and the community will take full control of production and marketing.
Last year, Fundirite began soil preparation and planting after its first season, with the plots owned by each member of the collective being ploughed and planted using a contractor under the supervision of Jerry Lambie, agriculture programme manager at TechnoServe.
The 63-year-old agricultural expert – yes, he is the Springbok fly half’s uncle – is also responsible for negotiating offtake agreements with consumer goods companies.
Sthembele Phaqa (25), Fundirite’s youngest director, estimates that the profit from the harvest should reach between R4 million and R5 million. Each member of the collective receives a dividend and seven bags of maize meal – a great help as each family has an average of 10 mouths to feed.
Phaqa, who completed his matric in KwaZulu-Natal, joined the collective because he always dreamed of becoming a commercial farmer.
“I always dreamed of getting involved in serious agriculture. When this opportunity presented itself, I had to get involved,” he says.
“This project allows us to develop our area, to feed ourselves and to contribute to the economy. It is something we are very proud of.”
Mkwedini, who is wearing the same green overalls as his subjects, joins the cheering when the engine catches. Mkwedini, who, at 39, is the youngest chief in Lambasi’s history, says the project is of huge importance for the 7 000-strong community that lives in the six villages that fall under the Lambasi administrative area.
“There are no jobs in this area. There has
been no progress. This project is providing an income to 490 families who did not have one before. It has been a great help to the community,” he says.
Mkwedini, who is a director of Fundirite, believes that with the proper support, Lambasi can become a highly productive breadbasket for the Eastern Cape.
“The soil is very rich here and contains a lot of nutrients. Pondoland has great potential as an area for agriculture on a large scale. There is a lot of land that has not been used. Even the drought has not affected this area,” he says.
Mkwedini chairs weekly meetings where participants in the project can raise their problems and concerns. It is this structure, he says, that has ensured the success of this project.
“Every week, we come together at the Great Place and discuss the challenges we face,” he says. “It is not an easy thing with 490 different people with different ideas, but we have to collaborate and support one another. It’s a great platform, and works very well to solve the problems that come up.”
Mkwedini is adamantly upbeat about the future of the project. “The funding Anglo has provided has made this project possible. This is an example of what can be done when a community is provided with the right support.
“There is a lot more land available that we can use for agriculture if we get more funding. We need to look at developing storage facilities here for maize, and start thinking about moving into agriculture production.”
Over the years, this part of the Eastern Cape has also been the area from which Anglo American SA gets most of its labour, so this project represents the company’s commitment to giving back to the families of its workers.
Eastern Cape Agriculture MEC Mlibo Qoboshiyane says the project is a “success story” that illustrates how traditional leadership, government and the private sector can work together with a community to produce good outcomes. His department has identified Lambasi as an agricultural hub for the region, and has plans to invest in the area, which is set to become a special economic zone.
“I witness a well-run, community-based rural industrialisation programme, firm commitment by big business to conclude offtake agreements and impressive commitment by community beneficiaries, who stand to benefit from both the profit and sustainable food,” he says.
“Lambasi is being earmarked to be one of the Eastern Cape’s AgriParks, and to be a major player in livestock feedlot development and a milling hub. I am optimistic that at the moment there is stability, conflict mediation and business acumen. The Eastern Cape government will help the agricultural sector to prosper by strengthening enterprise development.
“The skills transfer and direct involvement of women and young people is a safety valve that will help this project survive,’’ says Qoboshiyane.
This project is reported by City Press and sponsored by Anglo American
