As the largest producer of branded food products in Sub-Saharan Africa, the growth and development of the agricultural sector in South Africa is vital to a company like Tiger Brands. A thriving local agri-market creates significant wins for all relevant stakeholders in the country, acting as a catalyst for broader rural economic development and the participation of previously marginalised groups in the primary economy.
Tiger Brands also contributes directly to the strategic development of the agri-sector through our enterprise and supplier development interventions, as part of the broader economic transformation agenda of the country.
A significant focus for us at Tiger Brands is to transform our supply chain. We currently procure roughly 2.5 million tons of agricultural commodities per year, and about two-thirds of this is from local suppliers, including livestock, vegetables, fruit and grains. Approximately 16% is sourced from black-owned businesses and we’d like to increase that aggressively. The aim is to push that figure to R120 million by 2021 by helping more black suppliers in the agricultural sector.
To achieve this goal, we have partnered with the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to identify and develop smallholder farmers, who were previously unable to enter our supply chain or compete with their commercial counterparts. In the first phase of the project, 33 smallholder farmers from the Western Cape and Limpopo have been identified to particulate in the programme, receiving financial support, technical training and mentoring, in addition to seed, fertiliser and farming equipment, with a guaranteed offtake agreement from us.
This smallholder farmer programme should create 400 jobs, mostly in Limpopo and the Western Cape. One near-term target is to raise the volume of crops bought from those farmers from 23 000 tons to 35 000 tons a year.
The tomato farming community in Nwanedi in Limpopo has experienced enormous benefit as part of the smallholder farmer programme. Their passion for their craft shows in the quality of their crop – which ends up in our much loved and award winning products, like All Gold tomato sauce and Koo baked beans.
