Publish Date: 2017
Diageo South Africa and one of its brands, Johnnie Walker, has partnered with the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF), to sponsor one of the Special Awards categories in the annual YAFF (Youth in Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries) Awards.
The YAFF Award winners were announced at a gala dinner on 23 June 2017 at Kievits Kroon Country Estate in Pretoria.
Advancing youth economic empowerment
Zanele Njapha, Diageo SA sustainability manager, says: “An integral part of our sustainability mandate is to build thriving communities in the regions where we operate. Building on this, we are pleased to be in a position to make a meaningful contribution in the agricultural sector by rewarding the youth who have excelled in contributing to rural development and sustainable agricultural production.
“In keeping with this year’s Youth Month theme – The Year of OR Tambo: Advancing Youth Economic Empowerment, it is befitting that the announcement of the 2017 winners of the #YAFF Awards was made during the month that focuses on and celebrates our country’s youth, their entrepreneurial spirit, and economic enterprises,” adds Njapha.
Much more than a broiler project
Sivulamasango is a registered cooperative started and operated by a group of current and former students of Fort Cox College of Agriculture and Forestry in the Eastern Cape. The cooperative is the culmination of five years of work starting in 2012 when a group of twelve first-year students made contributions from their savings and pocket money to start a broiler project.
Fort Cox College provided critical access to infrastructure including the poultry housing. The cooperative was created out of a need to produce and supply fresh quality vegetables, maize for feeding purposes and broilers (one batch of 400 chicks per week), and to coordinate and encourage agricultural development, small farmer support and advisory services (mentorship).
The produce is sold to local supermarkets and retail stores in nearby King William’s Town, MiddleDrift and Alice.
The co-op aims to integrate and promote the efforts of the local communities, who contribute to the agricultural development of some of the most deprived and poverty- stricken rural areas of the province.
