Kwanalu farmers and partners donate R5 million to feed 500 000

Through the work of the KZN Agriculture Union, R5 million worth of food donations have been directed to rural towns and cities of KwaZulu-Natal to feed more than 500,000 people and provide food security for an additional 300,000 in the coming weeks (Kwanalu), Agri SA and their partners after the recent riots.

In response to the food security threat in the province following the July riots, Kwanalu and Agri SA have pooled resources with WeareSouthAfricans and their partners ReMAX SA, One Logix, Toyota Knights, Various Round Tables and Hino Pietermaritzburg to collect more than five tons of donated food from Gauteng, almost two tons of Mielie meal from SenWes, four tons of groceries from Karino Farms Mpumalanga via OrangeHearts (Citrus Growers Association), potatoes and onions from OneFarmShare (Hello Choice) and two tons of sugar from UCL Pty Ltd totaling 5 million . R in food aid.

“On behalf of our members, Kwanalu is committed to restoring value chains, improving rural security, and restoring rural stability to the rural communities around our members’ businesses. In addition, our leaders in these cities are promoting ideas to empower civil society to achieve stability and stop the decline of these critical cities across the province, ”said Sandy la Marque, CEO of Kwanalu.

During the riots across the province, Kwanalu conducted a real-time survey of its members to assess the extent of damage to farms, rural towns and their surrounding communities. The survey found that 31 rural cities were massively destroyed while another 10 were left without food for their surrounding rural communities.

In response to the survey results, Kwanalu, together with Agri SA, led a series of critical national interventions to ensure that the impact on the province’s agricultural value chain, future food security and rural stability is minimized as quickly as possible.

“It quickly became apparent that of the 31 rural cities hit by the riots, ten endangered cities needed immediate critical assistance. Together with the Agri SA Disaster Relief Foundation, we have developed plans to provide humanitarian aid to the most vulnerable rural communities in our province, ”said Dr. Kathy Hurly, Kwanalu project manager.

“The resilience of the farming community and the philanthropic spirit of our many partners have turned this disaster into an opportunity to benefit communities at risk, resulting in a total of R5 million in donations,” said Dr. Hurly.

“Rebuilding the decimated rural cities will not be easy, but it does provide an opportunity to review how rural cities are working and how security and stability can be enhanced. The unrest in July 2021 demonstrated that the functioning of rural cities is vital to the survival of thousands of people in the deep rural areas of the KZN, ”she said.

She said the affected cities all depend on outside parties to provide their supplies such as food, cash and services.

“This tragedy must be used to strengthen the independence of rural cities, to better integrate municipal and urban companies and to bring them into the future in solidarity and that, where business opportunities exist, these are investigated and financed to create urgently needed jobs in rural areas, ”said Dr. Hurly.

“Kwanalu has refined a business plan aimed at supporting women and youth in rural businesses and entrepreneurship, and when training is combined with business incentives and business creation, it can be used as a vehicle to rebuild the 31 rural cities. As it targets the whole agricultural value chain, it can attract new farmers, but most importantly, it can provide a mechanism to connect those farmers to local and new markets, ”said Hurly.