The government’s agricultural reform efforts in Mpumalanga have received support from one of the main contributors to economic activity in the Secunda area.
This week JSE-listed chemicals and energy company Sasol handed over 285ha of farmland to the department of agriculture, land reform and rural development, which will be used to support the development of emerging farmers.
Mpumalanga is one of the provinces that will be most affected by moves to reduce the use of coal for power generation and fuel production.
One of Sasol’s core operations is the conversion of coal into synthetic products such as petrol at its Synfuels plant in Secunda. The land that was given to the department under a 99-year lease agreement, forms part of Esperanza farm, which Sasol acquired in 1980 mainly for the establishment of its Secunda factory.
The executive vice-president for human resources and stakeholder relations at Sasol, Charlotte Mokoena, said that part of the land was already being used for agricultural and manufacturing activities.
As part of its agreement with the department Sasol will continue to have access to the farm for its Iphepe Emerging Farmer Development Programme.
More than 300 emerging farmers from the Gert Sibande district in Mpumalanga have already benefited from this programme.
In 2021, 85 emerging farmers completed training at the Buhle Farmers’ Academy and a further 88 farmers are due to complete their training in 2022.
Apart from providing training, through the programme, farmers are assisted with business starter kits, mentorship and market access.
The farmer programme forms part of the groups larger skills initiative that provides vocational training to women, youth and unemployed adults in areas such as agriculture, motor mechanics, welding, technology and digital development.
Sasol decided to “put the land in the hands of the department [of agriculture]” to instill greater stability in the management of governance of the land, Mokoena told Business Day.
The amount of land that individuals can access depends on the type of farming they want to do, she says. For fresh produce production they might require one hectare or less, but to graze cattle a farmers may need access to several hectares.
According to Mokoena, to be eligible for the programme being run by Sasol, or to access land through the department, applicants have to meet certain criteria. The young, women and the unemployed are targeted and they have to be from the broader Govan Mbeki municipal area, they should already have shown an interest in agriculture and preferably be involved in farming.
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