Our Chief Officer Technical, Masibonge Silevu, will be leaving our employ on the 31 August 2020. We would like to take this opportunity to thank him for valuable contributions he made. We wish him well for his future endeavours.
Women farmers make up an estimated 60 – 80 percent of smallholder farming in sub-Saharan Africa. However, it is estimated that only about 20 percent are land holders. Another staggering statistic is that women farmers make up on average 43 percent of the agricultural labour in developing countries. In some countries women farmers are the majority. Over two-thirds of employed women work in agriculture in South Asia, while in Eastern Africa over half are women farmers. Yet, through compounding levels of exclusion it...
HOUSEHOLDS TO START FOOD PRODUCTION UNITS In support of the Western Cape Department of Agriculture’s (WCDoA) One Home One Garden Campaign Western Cape Minister of Agriculture, Dr Ivan Meyer recently visited food gardens in Witzenberg. According to Minister Meyer, every household needs to have a food garden as it will contribute towards the family’s food security. Minister Meyer: “As part of our Covid-19 response, the One Home One Garden Campaign encourages households to start their own food production units.” Food production units come...
Yesterday, Western Cape Department of Agriculture's research dairy farms in Stellenbosch and George donated milk to the Milk Producers Organisation for further distribution amongst vulnerable communities in the Western Cape. Speaking at the handover, Western Cape Minister of Agriculture, Dr Ivan Meyer, highlighted the impact that Covid-19 has had on the poor. Minister Meyer: “Covid-19 has had a devastating impact on the most vulnerable in our society. No person or family should ever go hungry. We need to work together to...
Due to the National Lockdown in the country, kindly note that delays with payments and project deliveries could possibly occur or not processed on time during this period. Casidra SOC Ltd apologise for the inconvenience and continues to explore all possible avenues to render a service to you. Your kind consideration and patience in this regard will be highly appreciated. By Order Casidra Management For any enquiries contact Experience Matshediso PR/Communications Manager C: 082 560 5444 E: ematshediso@casidra.co.za
I must admit that when I wrote my last Column in March, just before South Africa entered into the Covid-19 lockdown, I was under the impression that we will go into a short and disruptive lockdown, but re-emerge after only a few weeks to continue with our lives as before. But after 60 days of lockdown under various levels (First Level 5 and currently Level 4, with Level 3 commencing in June), we now know that things are working...
MEDIA RELEASE BY DR IVAN MEYER WESTERN CAPE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE DATE: 19 MAY 2020 RELEASE: IMMEDIATELY R10 MILLION IN FODDER SUPPORT DISTRIBUTED IN THE WESTERN CAPE The Western Cape Department of Agriculture (WCDoA) has distributed R10 million in fodder support to 1727 farmers located in extreme or critically extreme drought areas in the Western Cape. These areas include Central and Little Karoo, parts of the Cape Winelands and the northern parts of Matzikamma. The distribution of fodder support vouchers to qualifying farmers has occurred with...
3 May 2020 On Thursday, 30 April 2020, I met with key stakeholders in Witzenberg to present the cabinet approved Western Cape Government Integrated Covid-19 Response Plan for the Witzenberg region. This plan is in response to the rapid increase in the number of Covid-19 positive cases in the Witzenberg region and follows consultation with various Provincial Departments, the Mayors and Deputy Mayors of Witzenberg and Cape Winelands District Municipalities, Agri Western Cape, the Witzenberg Business Initiative and relevant law enforcement...
As we are facing the most difficult times of our lives due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic which continues to spread across the globe and into Africa, I am profoundly concerned about the development of this pandemic and the effect it may have on each citizen across the countries at large. Over the past weeks, we have intensified our meetings and have been developing plans in consultation with our stakeholders to protect employees and our operations. It would be amiss of...
The recently announced 21 Day COVID-19 Lockdown Regulations has understandably created much anxiety within the agriculture sector. I do however want to assure farmers and farmworkers that in terms of Regulation No. 398 of the Disaster Management Act, 2002, the sector, being responsible for food security, has been declared as essential. This declaration reemphasises that the entire food value chain, from farm-related operations, agro-processing and food manufacturing, logistics and related services, wholesale and retail services, and all support functions that ensure...
The issue of EWC is stubbornly staying with us, and even urban home owners have started asking about the implications of what would happen to their home loans in the case of a house being expropriated without compensation. The Banking Association of South Africa’s response, that the bond is a contract between you as an individual and the Bank, and as such remains payable, did not do any good to the prevailing negative sentiment. The LREAD attended a symposium on...
Dr Ivan Meyer, Provincial Minister of Agriculture in the Western Cape, has officially announced Dr Mogale Sebopetsa as the new Head of the Western Cape Department of Agriculture (WCDoA). Minister Meyer: “I am looking forward to working with the newly appointed Head of Department (HoD) for Agriculture in the Western Cape. He has extensive public sector management skills and will bring knowledge as an agricultural scientist. He has also established a good working relationship with agricultural stakeholders.” Dr Sebopetsa currently holds...
It was an auspicious occasion when the Deputy Minister of the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR), Mcebisi Skwatsha, handed over a Title Deed for the Anhalt farm during a ceremony held at the Haarlem Community Centre on Saturday, 15 February 2020. This became a historic day for the community after striving for the past almost 20 years to get the Anhalt farm transferred. Prior to this handover, Deputy Minister Skwatsha visited Anhalt and said that the members...
SA Agriculture has faced multiple challenges over the past decade for various reasons. Numerous parts of the country experienced drought and continue to combat this challenge, the Rand depreciated significantly, and investor uncertainty grew. Furthermore, faming technology is changing rapidly, sustainability is a priority and there continues to be a skills shortage in the agricultural sector. Despite these challenges the trends that have developed in SA agriculture are positive and need to be as the world looks at ways to feed a...
State-Owned Companies (SOC) can offer meaningful benefits to the economy of a developing country when managed correctly. Due to misdirection of resources, some SOCs have underperformed, thus having a negative impact on public finances and economic growth in South Africa. Citizens expect high-quality services from an SOC and also demand a high level of transparency, reporting and accountability. With shrinking budgets and higher demand, public agencies need to continue to find ways to be prudent in their operations by managing more efficiently,...
Youth Development and creating sustainable employment are key components to Casidra’s project management portfolio in rural areas. Development in rural areas is needed in building infrastructure, improving education as well as health standards and living conditions and generating employment opportunities across a range of industries. One such industry is farming and agriculture in which it has become increasingly challenging to encourage young people to pursue as a vocation. Despite new technologies and progressive methods, the image of the weather-beaten farmer working under...
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) refers to the voluntary investment of a company in social/economic projects focused on advancing society with regard to housing, education, health care, food security, job creation and the environment. CSR, therefore, forms an integral part of the ‘give back’ strategy of any company that has the capability of planning and developing such programmes. Contributing towards the betterment and upliftment of society and maintaining harmonious relationships are seen as important - both on business and societal levels....
The beauty of renewable energy is that it naturally replenishes itself through sunlight, wind, tides, waves, rain, biomass and geothermal heat. Year by year our energy demands increase, while our supply of raw materials diminishes. Clearly, urgent and innovative action needs to be taken. Preparing for renewables is vital, together with the training required to leverage this option to the fullest extent for the wide range of concomitant (accompanying) employment opportunities that are bound to arise, both in urban and...
“I have this dream and I want to see it come true. And I will not give up. To achieve a goal, you have got to be a gambler, you have got to be certain you can do it.” ~ Chumak, Russian entrepreneur. A true entrepreneur is a rare animal, dedicated to their ideas, perhaps a little obsessive in their determination, often ready to start before everything has been fully explored and analysed. In a rural area where people may...
Between government and conventional market forces lies a sometimes overlooked but strategically valuable economic arena that is vitally important with regard to sustainable development of land, upliftment of people, and the creation of job opportunities. Despite rapid urbanisation, rural areas still host the poorest people. Working to alleviate this poverty requires critical interventions on an on-going basis with the backing of both public and private sectors. How does project management work? Project management will begin by examining any activity required to...
South Africa has a high percentage of people below the poverty line. As most of these people are unskilled or untrained in any specific work or trade, they are largely ignored by industries. The problem facing government, the private sector and other stakeholders is how to find ways of inculcating skills in an overlooked group that is undereducated, inexperienced, all too often seen as unemployable. Each year about 3,5 million enter the workforce, with only 1,5 million ever likely to...
When we think of job creation, we often think of big business or city/town projects that bring about accompanying opportunities for work. However, we tend to overlook the great potential lying in country areas where multi-faceted agricultural and related business opportunities are still untapped. All roads lead to Rome, they may say, but in essence successful initiatives can be found anywhere, not only in the towns and cities. HOW CAN WE EFFECT CHANGE? There is much talk about what should be...
Casidra hosted a prestigious event to celebrate its 25 years of existence during its year-end function on 28 November 2014 at Elsenburg College. The theme was ‘Casidra celebrating 25 Years of Excellence’. This event was well attended by high profile dignitaries and clients, role-players in rural development and the broader agricultural and economic development sectors as well as Casidra’s staff. Dignitaries who celebrated Casidra’s milestone included the Western Cape Minister of Economic Opportunities, Alan Winde; the Chairperson of...
The 1st of June is a very important date in the history of Casidra, as it will always be remembered as the first day when the company opened its doors in Paarl. This was way back in 1989 when the company was still known as LANOK. On the 2nd of June, Head Office staff gathered to celebrate its 25th anniversary. In his opening remarks, the CEO, Michael Brinkhuis, acknowledged the long-serving employees (Johan, Kobus, Freek and many others) for...
