Following the foreclosure of Covid-19, the South African Pork Producers ’Organization (Sappo) launched its #YesMrPresident campaign on Facebook, encouraging South Africans to support the president. Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to try to stop other infections.
“Sappo believes that South African leaders face a daunting task in navigating the country during the Covid-19 pandemic. With our #YesMrPresident campaign, we want to show our solidarity with the president and his colleagues,” said Johann Kotzé, CEO of Sappo.
Kotzé noted that farmers and their workers continue to produce food despite the foreclosure.
“This poses additional risks because it forces people in the industry to travel and work side by side. The agricultural sector wants to show that it is doing the right things to keep people safe. We want to show the government that the agricultural sector is listening. “
The food industry has since adopted Facebook to upload their selfies with the campaign hashtag.
Kotzé says that although the campaign initially targeted farmers transporting workers, working their land, people producing products in factories and processing food and people distributing products, those from other industries and even individuals also participated .
Sugar giant reuses medical infrastructure to fight Covid-19
Illovo Sugar Africa has reconfigured its medical infrastructure to directly treat any potential covid-19 infection within its own business or its surrounding communities. The leading sugar producer in Africa claims to have converted its existing medical infrastructure to a zero target to fight the epidemic of the new coronavirus.
Dr. Ernest Peresu, medical specialist of the Illovo group, declares: “Over the years, Illovo has invested massively in its medical infrastructure and its personnel in order to be able to meet the medical needs of our collaborators in all our markets, as well as those – as much as possible – communities that host our operations.
With the advent of covid-19, our hospitals and clinics have streamlined their operations to respond with agility to the explosion of what has become an ever-changing challenge – while still providing the same services as our doctors, sisters and nurses. delivered to our people so far. “
The company has divided its medical services into two parts with a single point of entry for everyone entering their clinics and hospitals. People are screened using a simple questionnaire in their own language and their body temperature is taken.
“If we have reason to believe that the person may be infected or have indicated respiratory symptoms, they are immediately masked and directed to a designated and isolated consultation room. We make sure that all social distancing protocols are respected in order to protect our other patients, who receive regular medical care, ”explains Peresu.
“Commercial farmers tired of being neglected” – TLU SA
TLU SA is unhappy that the government “continually neglects” commercial farmers when it offers financial assistance. This after Thoko Didiza, the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, announced that her ministry had allocated 1.2 billion rand to help small farmers who have been hit by the covid pandemic -19.
Only certain commodity sectors will be eligible for funding. TLU SA President Louis Meintjes said: “It is deplorable that commercial farmers are again getting the short end of the stick despite the vital role they play in food production, preventing food shortages and resulting anarchy. How should we motivate the commercial farmer to continue his vital production despite the risk of exposure to the coronavirus, when the government is not helping them in any way? “
Meintjes says that up to 70% of South Africans are urbanized and depend on commercial farmers to produce food for the nation. According to the latest agricultural census, subsistence farmers who will now benefit from government aid provide only 1.9% of the country’s food.
During her briefing, Didiza told Food For Mzansi that commercial farmers will be covered by the 100 million rand facility available to Land Bank for farmers in financial difficulty who already have loans with the bank. “I know there are financial institutions that have actually made arrangements to help farmers and other businesses in distress during this period.”
Tiger Brands stimulates agro-transformation through partnerships
Small black farmers are grouped into collectives to meet the capacity and quality requirements of Tiger Brands. The company says it will also provide input finance, agrarian and technical support, and business development support to ensure commercial success.
In a press release, Tiger Brands says that as one of the largest food manufacturers in Africa, it is “extremely dependent” on agricultural products for its inputs. However, its high demands on tonnage delivery have in the past made it very difficult for small farmers to be part of their supply chain.
Thanks to the Tiger Brands agricultural aggregator model, the company now allows farmers to supply them with products. In the Western Cape, the For Farmers project combines the first ten producers of buckwheat and oats to be part of the Tiger Brands supply chain. Farmer Thomas Skietekat says that without help, he could not have planted his crops this year. In Taung, in the northwest, the Baphuduhucwana production incubator has increased its agricultural land from eight hectares to over 700 hectares.
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