Cape Town - The City of Cape Town and the Philippi Economic Development Forum have signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) that sets out key deliverables for the organisation to achieve over the next 12 months.
The conclusion of the agreement follows from the council approving funding support in the amount of R2.6million for the current financial year for the Philippi Economic Development Initiative (Pedi) to continue with its work in urban agriculture.
The organisation manages the Philippi Urban Agriculture Academy (PUAA), which trains emerging farmers to become fresh produce suppliers. The initiative has entered phase two, with the establishment of an agri-hub for urban and small-scale farmers.
This hub is now in its first six months of operation and has formed a network of just under 50 urban farmers. These farmers come from various areas, such as Khayelitsha, Mitchells Plain, Philippi, Mfuleni and the Bo-Kaap.
“The training academy was launched two years ago, with the first phase aimed at establishing the methodologies for producing organic crops in tunnels and open fields. It also established a seedling growing tunnel which can grow as many as 130000 organic seedlings at any one time. This facility is one of only a few organic seedling producers in the Cape metropole and certainly the only in the Philippi area,” said the City’s mayco member for economic opportunities and asset management, James Vos.
The standards and methods employed at the PUAA will be shared with this network of urban farmers to bring their farms and crops to a standard that can be traded at the highest price in local, national and even international markets.
Mayco member for urban management Grant Twigg said all of this was to help bring urban and small-scale farmers to the forefront of trading their crops.
“Never before was there a facility that is able to bring urban and small-scale farmers to a central space to trade, and where value-added processes can change the price points of their crops. This, in turn, will be a catalyst for economic growth and development in the area,” Twigg said.
A group of 22 urban farmers will be trained in organic farming methods in the next 12 months.
They will further be assisted to achieve participatory guarantee system status on their farms.
The academy also plans to take in a graduate intern for a year to hone their academic skills at the academy.
Additionally, three employment opportunities will be created for unemployed matriculants from the Philippi area and surrounds for those who intend to pursue studies in agriculture.
The academy currently operates at the Philippi Fresh Produce Market on Stock Road, where 13 local residents are employed. The academy also employs a soil scientist to assist with norms and standards on the farm.
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