Page 7 - IDC

10 CITY PRESS, 29 NOVEMBER, 2015

news

Africa’s new
LUBABALO NGCUKANA
lubabalo.ngcukana@citypress.co.za

f you’re a fan of Debonairs pizza or Steers burgers,
chances are you’ve eaten cheese produced using milk
from the cows at Seven Stars dairy. mining: From an
Seven Stars is part of the Amadlelo Agri cooperative
of black dairy farmers whose milk, butter and cheese
Iare available for sale in large grocery chains, including
Shoprite. SA field to the
But in 2003, they were in a dire situation, struggling to make
a profit and pay off their Land Bank loan.
After a partnership with a group of commercial farmers and
the Industrial Development Cooperation (IDC), Amadlelo was world’s shelves
saved and Seven Stars now employs 55 people in
Keiskammahoek, a town 95km from East London.
Lumka Maso, shareholder and chairperson of the Seven Stars
Dairy Trust, says they now supply milk to Coega dairy, NICKI GÜLES
a dairy-processing plant in Port Elizabeth, which was also nicki.gules@citypress.co.za
formed as a result of the partnership.
Maso says Seven Stars began with 35 farmers in and around For Unati Speirs, the head of agroprocessing at the
Keiskammahoek, with 300 Friesland cattle and a R1.7 million Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), food is
loan from the Land Bank. IN CHARGE Shareholder and chairperson of the Seven Stars Dairy Trust Lumka Maso PHOTOS: LEON SADIKI Africa’s new mining.
“But we were battling and the business was not moving “By 2025, the Southern African Development
forward due to a skills deficit and a lack of general Community will be among the world’s largest food
infrastructure. Things started to change when we partnered consumers. By 2025, the population of Africa will reach
with the IDC and Amadlelo in 2010,” she says. 1.4 billion people and, by 2050, Africa will overtake
Amadlelo brought in 1 800 cows. “We are now a thriving Cash out China and India [in population size],” she says.
business free of loans and making a profit,” she says. It’s therefore imperative that South African food
Most of the dairy’s 55 employees are women. It is producers position themselves to take advantage of a
undoubtedly the biggest business operation in tiny new food revolution for a growing population.
Keiskammahoek. Speirs (36) controls a book of agriprocessing
From 300 cows, Seven Stars now milks 2 000 cows twice a companies worth R7.3 billion to the IDC, along with a
day. They have expanded to two dairies, which can milk a team of 10 chartered accountants and 15 other staff,
respective 50 and 60 cows at a time using a hi-tech rotary- from marketers to agriculturalists and food specialists.
parlour milking machine. Together they receive requests for assistance from
The dairies are managed by two young university graduates, of cows farmers and food producers and conduct due diligence
Abubele Mtambeka, who graduated from Nelson Mandela on businesses to determine the value the IDC can help
Metropolitan University, and Mandla Sikhondo, from the to unlock.
Tshwane University of Technology. Speirs has a Master of Science degree in agriculture
Seven Stars’ manager, Leonard Mavhungu, says the and is now doing her PhD in agriprocessing. She
establishment of Coega Dairy – which has unique, believes there is a lot of value in the sector, prompted
environmentally friendly technology and an ultra-high- From humble beginnings, black empowerment in no small part by the increasing global popularity of
temperature processing plant – gave them a lifeline because it food TV channels and shows such as MasterChef.
became their regular customer. “The new generation of consumer is passionate about
Though the bulk of their milk goes to Coega Dairy, Seven dairy cooperative Amadlelo Agri has expanded his or her food and wants it to be sustainably
Stars also sells to Keiskammahoek locals. Now they plan to produced, wants to know where the food was
grow their dairy and use the fallow 260 hectares of their 750ha and is milking its success for all it’s worth produced, by whom and how it was made,” she says.
property to bring in 1 000 more cows. “People don’t just eat because they are hungry; they
Mavhungu says they have come a long way from the days are concerned about how nutritious their food is and
when they would sell milk for less than 50c a litre. Now they how they are contributing to the economy
sell it for R1.30. with their consumer spend. They also
Maso says that, compared to when they started, the project want the convenience of gourmet at
has become a big success. a reasonable price.”
They have also managed to buy out one of the farmers in the This, Speirs says, places
cooperative, paying him R1.2 million for a farm that’s now been environmentally friendly
incorporated into Seven Stars. farming practices in South
“We want to buy more farms because we have realised, since Africa in a unique position to
having partners such as Amadlelo, IDC and Coega, we have score for generations to
achieved a lot,” she says. come.
One of Seven Stars’ employees, Nontombi Ncinane (55), Speirs cites the Coega
had been unemployed for three years when Dairy near Port Elizabeth
she landed a job at the dairy, milking (see left) as a good example
cows. She used to work at a Chinese- of how available
owned shoe factory in nearby A opportunities can be
Dimbaza, which shut down in maximised by the IDC
2004. PROJECT IN partnering with the right
“When I came to work here, I Unati Speirs business model. Milk from
knew nothing about milking cows, PARTNERSHIP Coega is sold by the
but today I think I am an expert Shoprite group in South Africa and the rest of Africa.
in not only that, but I also know a WITH THE ... AND COUNTING Having started with 300 JOB CREATION Seven Stars has 55 employees, most The agriprocessing sector can make a real difference
lot about what is being done here cows, there are now 2 000 at Seven Stars of whom are women in the lives of those who work in it.
through training and skills “A majority of people who work in agribusinesses
development. I love my job,” she IDC have a low level of skills – it’s not like the health or
says.“We used to live in a shack. I chemical sectors, for instance, where a four-year
have since built a decent house for my qualification is a minimum requirement. It’s possible to
family. start as a general worker and grow into a manager
“My husband – who works as a security through workplace experience,” she says.
guard at public works – and I are able to provide for our “By growing youth participation in agriculture, young
kids and meet their needs, such as buying them uniforms, people have the freedom to grow in the areas they
clothes and sending them to school. come from that will reduce the pressure for
“I am grateful for the job I have here.” urbanisation without infrastructural development,
Dairy manager Mtambeka (30) studied agricultural which in turn grows rural communities. Agriprocessing
management and joined the dairy for his internship in 2009. has the ability to grow the economy and jobs in the
He was employed as the manager the following year. areas that need them the most.”
This is the single father’s first permanent job. The IDC is also helping to transform the sector by
“It’s something I wanted to do since I was young. You get financing worker trusts that enable a farm’s employees
to learn skills you need as a farmer. It is quite an to buy significant stakes in businesses for which they
experience. The thing I love most about my job is definitely and their families have worked for generations,
milking cows,” he says. RURAL MEETS HI-TECH Keiskammahoek has PRECIOUS COMMODITIES The cows are the stars of something Speirs describes as a “win-win situation”.
. This series is reported by City Press and sponsored by the IDC sophisticated milking machines Keiskammahoek’s biggest business operation The corporation also funds equity partnerships and
supports emerging black farmers who are linked
directly to retail chains or export markets.
There are obstacles, though. One is a reluctance
Making Middledrift’s pastures the land of milk and money among young people to pursue a career largely deemed
not sexy. Another is a lack of interest and information
about the sector’s potential and economic
opportunities.
Not far from Seven Stars is Middledrift Dairy, 90km northwest There was another 58 hectares, which was not developed and, Then, of course, there is the drought, the worst the
of East London, which provides much-needed jobs in a after we did so, it gave us an opportunity to milk more cows,” country has experienced in 23 years.
depressed town. said Rikhatso. “The IDC is responding by establishing an emergency
Jeanet Rikhatso (28) from Limpopo is the dairy’s senior farm The dairy employs 17 people; their turnover has risen from fund in the four affected provinces for new and existing
manager; she has worked there since 2008, when it began. R1.2 million to more than R3 million. clients,” she says. “We’re expecting the drought to last
The 650 cows are not her only charges – there’s the entire The dairy was started by Amadlelo, the group of commercial until at least September 2016, and we’re expecting the
operation to oversee, pastures to check, machinery to maintain farmers based in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. The situation to get worse by then, with floods and other
and all the administration. farm is 60% owned by the community who own the land, while related post-drought climatic conditions.”
Middledrift Dairy produces 10 500 litres of milk a day. They Amadlelo has a 40% stake. Among Speirs’ favourite agribusinesses are those that
increased production from 1.5 million litres a year with 400 “We have the potential to go up to 4 million litres a year if have gone global – such as Dynamic Commodities, an
cows seven years ago to 3.5 million last year. we can manage to develop a part of the farm that has no IDC client producing sorbet that is now available in
Like Seven Stars, they supply the bulk of their milk to the infrastructure, but that needs more money and partnerships. Japanese supermarkets.
Coega dairy processing plant. Jeanet Rikhatso (28) from Limpopo is the senior farm This forms part of our future plans for immediate growth,” said “It’s like flying our flag. I get so proud when I arrive
“The land was not all developed when we started milking. manager at Middledrift Dairy in the Eastern Cape Rikhatso. – Lubabalo Ngcukana in [global grocery chains] such as Tesco and see one of
our products,” she says.

The IDC’s agroprocessing funding KwaZulu-Natal

Number of businesses: 17
Number of businesses 127 Where the businesses are Investment value: Kenya
funded since 2010: R91.9 million Number of businesses: 1
Number of businesses Jobs created and saved: 812 Investment value:
funded in 2014/15: 16 R132.1 million

Total investment since 2010: Gauteng Limpopo Western Cape
Number of businesses: 31
Number of businesses: 20
Namibia
R2.834 billion Investment value: Number of businesses: 10 Investment value: Number of businesses: 1
Investment value:
Total investment in 2014/15: R548 million R212.1 million R424 million Investment value:
Jobs created and saved: 2 315
R115.6 billion Jobs created and saved: 3 392 Jobs created and saved: 3 180 R150 million
created since 2010: 10 253 Free State Mpumalanga Eastern Cape Number of businesses: 2 Number of businesses: 3
Swaziland
Mozambique
Number of jobs
Number of businesses: 12
Number of businesses: 8
Number of businesses: 4
Investment value: Investment value: Investment value: Investment value: Investment value:
saved since 2010: 3 812 R139.9 million R6 million R190.7 million R14.5 million R278.3 million
Number of jobs
Jobs created and saved: 506
Jobs created and saved: 1 296
Jobs created and saved: 1 269
COBUS PRINSLOO, Graphics24