Black South African olive oil producer calls for more state support

Fed up with his call centre job, Loyiso Manga set his sights on becoming one of South Africa's first Black olive oil producers.

Source: Reuters

He struggled to buy a farm because he could not secure funding, but eventually found a partner that supplies him with olive oil that he blends into his own signature product.

Manga's brand has started to take off, with bottles of his olive oil stocked by upmarket South African retailer Woolworths.

He wants to see more support from the government so he can grow his business into one that will last for generations.

2024 SA Olive Awards winners announced

11 Sep 2024

"There are a lot of us who come from my position who want access to land," Manga told Reuters. "We don't have a warehouse nor a farm, but that just goes to prove the market is there."

South Africa's Western Cape province, with its Mediterranean climate, is ideal for olive farming. But it is a capital intensive process, with farmers needing to wait four to five years before their olive trees produce the yield needed for a harvest.

An agriculture ministry spokesperson said the government was allocating land to emerging farmers, but she did not respond to questions about state support for emerging olive oil farmers specifically.