Sponsoring Western Cape Farmworker of the Year competition

L - R: Stefan Conradie (Chief Director Rural Development Co-ordination), Gerrit van Rensburg (Western Cape Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development), Brian Weyers (General Manager: Marketing and Product Development at Shoprite) and André Thops (Chair Western Cape Prestige Farmworker Forum).

Photo: Gizelle van Wyk

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The Western Cape Farmworker of the Year competition, run by the Western Cape Department of Agriculture, is the only farmworker competition in the country and has been running since 2002. It currently attracts more than 1000 entrants from 16 regions in the Western Cape. The prestigious competition will reward the winner with a prize of more than R100 000.

Brian Weyers, a director of the Shoprite Group, said at the launch of the sponsorship, that they are proud to be part of this competition and they see themselves as a very fitting partner.

"The company contributes to food security and their expertise and infrastructure contributes directly to our country's ability to feed its people. Similarly it is the hard work, dedication and skills of farmworkers that ensure that the company has quality food products on its shelves," said Gerrit van Rensburg, Western Cape Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Van Rensburg said that he would like to see this competition being expanded nationally, that a National Prestige Farmworker Forum, represented by all the national winners be created and that funding for equity share schemes could be resumed to give farmworkers the opportunity to be owners. According to Minister van Rensburg, "This sponsorship is a perfect example of how business and government can work better together to achieve some of these objectives for farmworkers."

The overall winner, together with all the category winners, of the Western Cape Farmworker of the Year competition, sponsored by Shoprite, will be announced on 9 November 2012 at a gala event at CTICC.