Page 43 - 100 years of Anglo American

group of men and women hud-
dle around a broken-down tractor
in the middle of a mealie field,
which lies next to the road in Di-
Athini, near Khonjwayo village,
Lambasi, near Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape.
They need to get the tractor going so they
can load 98 tons of yellow maize onto trucks.
This is the Fundirite agricultural collective’s sec-
ond successful harvest.
Some of the mealies, sold in offset agree-
ments with Farmwise Grains, will end up with a
cereal producer and then in your breakfast
bowl.
The tractor engine catches. A stream of gold-
en kernels flows out of the augur attached to it
and into the truck bed. The workers cheer. They
are part of a group of 490 small farmers who
fall under Lambasi Farms, a mechanised agricul-
tural project sponsored by Anglo American Zi-
mele – the mining company’s enterprise devel-
opment arm – in partnership with the National
Treasury’s Jobs Fund.
The farmers get a share in the profits from
the sale of the mealies, along with R700 per
hectare for the use of their land.
The project, which was set up two years ago,
covers 900ha that was once used for subsist- Simbongile Mzimeli holds out a handful of the mealies that have given him financial
ence farming. Using R14 million provided by An- stability, allowing him to send his children to university
glo American, farming and marketing expertise
is provided by agricultural nongovernmental or- Giving back to the
ganisation TechnoServe.
Hlonela Lupuwana-Pemba, the managing di-
rector of Anglo American Zimele, says: “Through
Conscious stimulation of supply and demand WORKERS
the Lambasi initiative, we wanted to build a
model to demonstrate that socioeconomic de-
velopment is possible even in depressed areas.
for enterprises, through agriculture in particular,
contributes to rural development. In rural Lusikisiki, small farmers’ lives have
“South Africa’s agricultural sector has the po-
tential to create 1 million jobs by 2030. To changed as their hard work sees them
achieve this goal, we need to replicate sustaina- reap the rewards, writes Paddy Harper
ble community-based projects like Lambasi. It is
only through partnerships – with other private
sector players, government and communities – area: “There are no jobs. There has been no ing into agriculture production.”
that we will be able to achieve this.” progress. This project is providing an income to Over the years, Anglo American SA has at-
A board of directors, which includes local 490 families who did not have one before.” tracted most of its labour force from this part of
chief Mthuthuzeli Mkwedini, runs Mkwedini, a director of Fundirite, be- the Eastern Cape. This project represents
the project. lieves that, with proper support, the company’s commitment to giving
TechnoServe will pull out in four years, and Lambasi can become a highly pro- back to the families of its workers.
the community will take full control of produc- ductive breadbasket in the East- Eastern Cape Agriculture MEC
tion and marketing. ern Cape. Mlibo Qoboshiyane says the
Sthembele Phaqa (25), Fundirite’s youngest di- “The soil is very rich here and project is a “success story” that
rector, says that, at harvest time, each member contains a lot of nutrients. Pon- illustrates how traditional lead-
of the collective receives a dividend and seven doland has great potential as an ership, government and the pri-
bags of mealie meal – a great help as each fami- area for agriculture on a large vate sector can work together
ly has an average of 10 mouths to feed. Phaqa, scale. There is a lot of land that with a community to produce good
who matriculated in KwaZulu-Natal, joined the has not been used,” he says. outcomes.
collective because he always dreamed of becom- Mkwedini is upbeat about the Novuyile Dukuza, “I witness a well-run, commu-
ing a commercial farmer. future of the project. a mother of four, nity-based rural industrialisation
“This project allows us to develop our area, to “The funding Anglo American says the project has programme, firm commitment by
feed ourselves and to contribute to the econo- has provided has made this made it possible for her big business to conclude offtake
my. It is something we are very proud of,” he project possible. This is an exam- family to eat agreements and impressive com-
says. ple of what can be done when a mitment by community benefici-
Mkwedini joins the cheering when the trac- community is provided with the right support. aries, who stand to benefit from both the profit
tor’s engine starts. At 40 years old, Lambasi’s “There is a lot more land available that we and sustainable food,” he says.
youngest chief in history says the project is can use for agriculture if we get more funding. “The skills transfer and direct involvement of
hugely important for the 7 000-strong commu- We need to look at developing storage facilities women and young people will help this project
nity that lives in the six villages in the Lambasi here for mealies, and start thinking about mov- survive.”
ANGLO AMERICAN 100 YEARS 43