News South Africa

Successful farmers train new ones at Amadlelo Agri

While small-scale agriculture has been earmarked by the South African government as a sector with the potential to create jobs and stimulate economic growth, small-scale farmers often lack the financial support and skills to run a profitable farming operation, Allafrica.com says. The Amadlelo Agri story, however, is one of success and growth.

The story, presented by Amadlelo's Jeff Every at the recent "Strategies to Overcome Poverty and Inequality" conference, describes an initiative involving commercial dairy farmers in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal provinces of South Africa. "Amadlelo was formed (in 2004) by white commercial farmers to drive transformation of agriculture in South Africa," Every says. The project selects and trains black farmers in partnership with the University of Fort Hare, offering experiential training with highly successful farmers - so as to ensure the transfer of skills.

"it was important for us, who knew how to run businesses, to come forward and say we'll take hands with government on one side and communities on the other in a true partnership", Every adds. According to Allafrica.com, Amadlelo also received support from the Eastern Cape Department of Agriculture and the Land Bank.

Read the full article on http://allafrica.com.

Let's do Biz