Worker trusts take control of fruit exporter
Thématique :
sud afrique
Chris van Gass, Cape Correspondent, Business Day, 3 November 2008
Nearly 200 workers and packers of a prominent apple and pear producer in the fertile Elgin Valley have taken a controlling interest in two farms in a R29m deal representing one of the largest land reform and agricultural black economic empowerment (BEE) projects in the Overberg region.
The project will see three worker trusts take a 52% share in the Vintage Group, a grower, packer and exporter of quality deciduous fruits, mainly apples, pears and grapes, which operates on the farms Arieskraal and Vyebosch.
The BEE partnership provided R8,5m to procure its interest with funding obtained through the land affairs department's land redistribution for agricultural development programme and bank financing.
The project, which was conceptualised more than three years ago but began operations in earnest 18 months ago, had already realised its first dividend of R1,5m, which was "happy news" for the new shareholders, said farm manager and shareholder Peter Januarie.
Western Cape MEC for agriculture Cobus Dowry said on Friday the project was an example of how commercial farmers like Vintage CEO Barbara van den Bossche and MD Charl van den Berg could contribute to the government's land reform programme. He said the extension of ownership was one way of combating poverty and eradicating the inequalities of the past.
Dowry said his department believed strongly in training, which the new partners of the farm would be able to tap into, and had budgeted more than R30m for structured agricultural training in the province to improve the living standards of farm workers.
Arieskraal and Vyebosch comprise nearly 300ha with 175ha planted under fruit trees. The Vintage group recently bought two additional farms, Kentucky and Twaalffontein, which has significantly extended its fruit farming operations to service its growing international customer base.
Januarie said Arieskraal produced 1500 tons of pears and 7500 tons of apples a year, with a turnover of R22m. The company exports to regions including Europe, the Middle East, Near East and Africa.
Januarie said he had been working on the farm for more than 30 years and, like all the new shareholders, he was excited about future prospects.
Van den Bossche, whose family started Vintage when they arrived from Belgium in SA in 1995, initially on holiday, said the partnership with Van den Berg had resulted in the establishment of a very competitive export business which already benefited a large community.
She said the group believed that the people who worked on the farms needed to be part of the land transformation process and Arieskraal was the first such initiative to accomplish this.
Van den Berg said the group had a clear vision on what was needed to keep farming profitable in the future, in view of a dramatic rise in input costs and especially the prices of fuel and fertiliser.
He said the group understood SA's past and also the social responsibility it had as owners.
Nearly 200 workers and packers of a prominent apple and pear producer in the fertile Elgin Valley have taken a controlling interest in two farms in a R29m deal representing one of the largest land reform and agricultural black economic empowerment (BEE) projects in the Overberg region.
The project will see three worker trusts take a 52% share in the Vintage Group, a grower, packer and exporter of quality deciduous fruits, mainly apples, pears and grapes, which operates on the farms Arieskraal and Vyebosch.
The BEE partnership provided R8,5m to procure its interest with funding obtained through the land affairs department's land redistribution for agricultural development programme and bank financing.
The project, which was conceptualised more than three years ago but began operations in earnest 18 months ago, had already realised its first dividend of R1,5m, which was "happy news" for the new shareholders, said farm manager and shareholder Peter Januarie.
Western Cape MEC for agriculture Cobus Dowry said on Friday the project was an example of how commercial farmers like Vintage CEO Barbara van den Bossche and MD Charl van den Berg could contribute to the government's land reform programme. He said the extension of ownership was one way of combating poverty and eradicating the inequalities of the past.
Dowry said his department believed strongly in training, which the new partners of the farm would be able to tap into, and had budgeted more than R30m for structured agricultural training in the province to improve the living standards of farm workers.
Arieskraal and Vyebosch comprise nearly 300ha with 175ha planted under fruit trees. The Vintage group recently bought two additional farms, Kentucky and Twaalffontein, which has significantly extended its fruit farming operations to service its growing international customer base.
Januarie said Arieskraal produced 1500 tons of pears and 7500 tons of apples a year, with a turnover of R22m. The company exports to regions including Europe, the Middle East, Near East and Africa.
Januarie said he had been working on the farm for more than 30 years and, like all the new shareholders, he was excited about future prospects.
Van den Bossche, whose family started Vintage when they arrived from Belgium in SA in 1995, initially on holiday, said the partnership with Van den Berg had resulted in the establishment of a very competitive export business which already benefited a large community.
She said the group believed that the people who worked on the farms needed to be part of the land transformation process and Arieskraal was the first such initiative to accomplish this.
Van den Berg said the group had a clear vision on what was needed to keep farming profitable in the future, in view of a dramatic rise in input costs and especially the prices of fuel and fertiliser.
He said the group understood SA's past and also the social responsibility it had as owners.
