Nwanedi, in the Vhembe district is situated in Limpopo where the Nwanedi River (a branch from the Crocodile River) flows. For the past year little rain fell in the area with the result that smallholder farmers dependent on the Nwanedi Rivers’ water for irrigation suffered and some could not even plant as the riverbed ran completely dry. Farmers with access to boreholes planted vegetables and were able to harvest.

Mid-January 2017 brought a welcome rainfall of 25 mm and the Nwanedi River is flowing again. Planting of tomato seedlings was started as the Cooperative’s members are keen to harvest before winter sets in. In this area tomatoes can only be cultivated during first five months of the year.

The soil is of excellent quality for open land production of tomatoes and will reap much benefit for the Nwanedi farmers. Therefore with cooperation between the farmers, proper mentorship and aid by various parties with a vested interest in improving social and agricultural welfare in this area, much can be accomplished within this season and time to come.

Forming a pilot project

Firstly it was of importance that these farmers needed to group together to increase their capacity and strengthen their marketing arm. Basing on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the government of the Republic of South Africa on co-operative societies the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is part of the founding team and they are consistently involved in the oversight responsibilities of the project. The largest tomato grower in South Africa, ZZ2 has a farm and pack house facility at Nwanedi.

As part of their social responsibility they, the Department of Agriculture in Limpopo, the Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) in partnership with The

Pro-‘fresh’-ionals (market agents) conducted a profiling of high potential farmers in the region of Nwanedi to form a pilot project called the ‘New Generation Co-operative’. Together with the representatives from the selected farmers these stakeholders formed a working group whose main responsibility is to coordinate and undertake activities for the establishment of the cooperative.

Stakeholder engagement and institutional development

With the diligence of all parties involved in the registration process, Nwanedi New Generation Agricultural Primary Cooperative Limited (NNGAPCL) was registered as early as 17 October 2016. This gave NNGAPCL authority to commence business with immediate effect.

The New Generation Cooperative task team held a meeting in early November 2016 to discuss among other the NNGAPCL draft business plan, stakeholder management. The NGC task team representatives then met with the NNGAPCL members at Nwanedi. The NNGAPCL draft business plan was discussed including financial projections for the administration cost. Inputs were drawn from the meeting and a final draft business plan was developed after discussions with the project stakeholders.

Dutch Embassy visit to Nwanedi

Being globally known for their expertise in horticulture, Dutch involvement with the Nwanedi project was imperative. The new Dutch Agricultural Councillor, Mr Jack Vera and his assistant Mr Bernard Likalimba, visited the farmers, together with representatives from RSA Market Agents and the Marketing director for ZZ2, Mr Piet Prinsloo.

The agricultural counsellor encouraged them to continue with the spirit of working together and stated that such spirit will always form their basis for both mutual support and drawing attention from the institutions that may have resources to help them to deal with problems such as the drought and to improve their farming enterprises in future. A collective action in the context of the New Generation Cooperative is one of the pillars of hope for the farmers in the Nwanedi New Generation Cooperative.

Article supplied by Undercover Farming

Piet Prinsloo