Sustainable community food production in Stompneus Bay receives funding

Department of Agriculture funded projects from the Greenhands Community Food Garden Project in Stompneus Bay and the Middelpos Farm.

Department of Agriculture funded projects from the Greenhands Community Food Garden Project in Stompneus Bay and the Middelpos Farm.

Published Aug 18, 2021

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Cape Town - The provincial Department of Agriculture has pledged to fund projects by the Greenhands Community Food Garden Project in Stompneus Bay and the Middelpos Farm to enhance food security.

Provincial Agriculture MEC Ivan Meyer said the budget for these projects was determined by an assessment by the department’s extension officials in the area.

R198 000 was allocated to Greenhands and R2, 213 085 to Middelpos Farm to increase their ability to provide communities with sustainable food sources.

Meyer also distributed seedlings and gardening equipment, and said this support, as well as the funding, was prompted by food insecurity, lack of jobs and low household income in the area.

“Food security is a pressing issue in South Africa, and we welcome more community-based projects like these that empower communities to create a more sustainable food system,” said Agri WC chief executive officer Jannie Strydom.

Meyer said the funding towards Middelpos Farm allowed for the establishment of an agro-processing plant, improved mechanisation and production inputs for vegetables and assisted with their current farming activities.

Funding towards the project in Stompneus Bay was set to go towards irrigation, fencing, water tanks, garden tools and production inputs such as seedlings, fertilizer compost and a container for storage purposes.

Greenhands team leader Petronella Ponie said they lived in close proximity to a large dumping ground where people dumped their rubbish. She realised the grounds would be better used as a food garden, which led them to establish the Greenhands project.

Ponie said their group, which consisted of 14 women and one man, had been unable to find work during the Covid-19 pandemic, so their food garden provided them with jobs and their community with a sustainable source of affordable and nutritious food.

“It has been hard work to get the garden established. Our volunteers are mostly women. They have been fantastic. Through their hard work, we have been able to plant our first vegetables and take the first step towards food security,” said Ponie.

Meyer said they would continue to train families to produce their own food at household level and address the prominent issue of food security in West Coast communities.