Programmes involving major food retail chains, a small start-up and the government have been established to help smallholder farmers.
One of these programmes, Seeds for Change, recently shortlisted its 2025 candidates to take part in workshops and training, culminating in a pitch to Food Lover’s Market executives. The successful businesses may be listed as suppliers in the chain’s stores.
Food Lover’s Market has also linked up with start-up Buttercup Farmhouse, which specialises in health-focused products.
The chain has identified the importance of adopting start-ups to help smallholder farmers scale operations to a level efficient enough to meet the Food Lover’s Market’s standards, says culture and communication manager Terri Coppin-Harris.
Chantelle de Bruyn, founder of Buttercup Farmhouse, says: “Despite a steady rise in training programmes and skills initiatives, most [smallholder farmers] are inefficient, specifically rural-based and marginalised ones. New entrants struggle with access to market-readiness skills, packaging innovation, branding and financial literacy. These are crucial for scaling. We have experience of how structural skills shortages can slow innovation and sustainability in the agri-sector.”
This all dovetails with government plans to help smallholder farmers.
An agriculture master plan was established in 2022 to empower black and emerging farmers to build sustainable agricultural and agro-processing enterprises. The Gauteng government has a farmer training programme and an agriculture support programme that MEC Vuyiswa Ramokgopa says provide practical training in climate-smart agriculture, agro-processing, financial literacy and market readiness.
The national government strategy on agriculture is contained in the economic reconstruction & recovery plan, which aims to address the economic crisis worsened by Covid and long-standing structural challenges such as unemployment, inequality and low growth. Launched in October 2020, the plan aims to build a sustainable, resilient and inclusive economy, rather than simply returning to a pre-pandemic condition.
According to recent estimates by the National Agricultural Marketing Council, smallholder farmers supply about 30% of the fresh produce traded at national fresh produce markets in South Africa.
At a Good Agricultural Practices (GLOBALG.A.P) conference held in Berlin in February, on the significance of smallholder farming, GLOBALG.A.P MD Elmé Coetzer-Boersma said many smallholder farmers lack the resources to meet international certification standards. She told the conference that her organisation’s primary farm assurance programme is designed to provide an accessible entry point, equipping such farmers with the education and tools needed to improve productivity and implement responsible farming practices.
“In South Africa, we recently supported a programme that connected smallholder farmers with supermarket chain Spar. Through a collaborative approach involving multiple stakeholders, this rural initiative has already achieved measurable success, delivering tangible benefits for the smallholders,” she added.
Smallholder farmers supply about 30% of the fresh produce traded at national fresh produce markets in South Africa
Through the initiative with Food Lover’s Market, says De Bruyn, Buttercup Farmhouse has introduced its coffee product to new markets, with a scaled workforce that can deliver.
Coppin-Harris says: “One of our core objectives is investing resources towards assisting our beneficiaries to acquire the operational certification that is demanded by Food Lover’s Market, in a commitment to providing better-quality products for our customers, from our suppliers.”
She says various products require varying certificates before they can reach the shelves. Seeds for Change developed a model that helps suppliers acquire these approval documents.
De Bruyn says: “Buttercup Farmhouse has enjoyed access to supply chain integration, market visibility and mentorship received from the initiative. The initiative has validated our innovation and given our vegetable coffee product credibility. The exposure pushed us to refine our value proposition and build relationships with strategic buyers, many of whom now form part of our export ambitions.”
Buttercup Farmhouse’s vegetable coffee is a caffeine-free alternative, made primarily from butternut squash.
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