MESSAGE FROM THE CEO’s DESK
Some new initiatives envisaged by the Western Cape government are now coming to fruition and are ready to be implemented. Amongst the most prominent is Project Khulisa. Project Khulisa is the concept through which the provincial government conducted an in-depth investigation of the areas and sectors, which need to be focused on, to bring about meaningful economic growth and job creation in the province. The ultimate aim is to grow the Western Cape economy. The outcome of the study...Hopefield and Cape Metro Business and Entrepreneurship Training
The Unit for Technical Assistance (UTA) was requested by the Western Cape Department of Agriculture (WCDoA) to appoint a Facilitator to conduct Business Management and Group Dynamics training for farmers in Hopefield and Cape Metro’s, Kraaifontein area. The aim for the Cape Metro training was to create a conducive environment under which all groups can work cohesively, as they are leasing farm portions from the same farmer. The group was constituted of 2 private companies and 1 cooperative. The...
FAREWELL TO OUR BOARD MEMBER
Casidra bid farewell to one its long-serving Board members, Prof. Julian Smith on the 12th March 2015 at Laborie’s Harvest restaurant in Paarl. Prof. Smith started serving as a Board member way back in 2002. During this time, he served and provided his invaluable leadership expertise within various Board committees, and was the chairperson of the Remuneration Committee for numerous years until his resignation as a Board member in November 2014. In his farewell message, Advocate Gary Oliver, Chairperson...
UNIT FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
Land Reform Evaluation Report for the Western Cape summarised below The Unit for Technical Assistance in Casidra was requested to conduct an evaluation of the Land Reform Programme in the Western Cape Province. The purpose of the evaluation was to determine the rate of success and based on a sample taken from 246 agricultural land reform projects supported by the Western Cape Department of Agriculture (WCDoA) from 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2013 through the Comprehensive Agricultural Support...
Food Garden Competition Award for Southern Cape beneficiaries
In February 2015, the Western Cape Department of Agriculture (WCDOA), with assistance from Casidra, organised the Food Garden Competition in Karatara for the Southern Cape residents who are taking the lead in food security. The intention of this competition was to award those beneficiaries who carried the food garden initiative successfully after receiving support from the WCDoA. This follows after the WCDoA, along with other stakeholders, handed over food gardens to residents in the area in 2013. The residents...Western Cape Government establishes Land Reform Advisory Desk
The Minister of Economic Opportunities, Alan Winde, announced the newly-established Land Reform Advisory Desk (LREAD), based at Casidra's head office in Paarl (an implementing agency for the Western Cape Department of Agriculture), to expedite transformation in the province's agricultural sector. The LREAD’s vision is to address the inequitable distribution of land to accomplish integration of the rural areas into the mainstream economy of the Western Cape. Minister Winde said, "Speeding up land reform is one of my foremost priorities. The...Rural Nodal Development Co-operative and SMME Support Programme
Casidra has been successfully unleashing the potential of entrepreneurs who are dreaming big across the Province to change their lives through the Rural Nodal Development Co-operative and SMME Support Programme. This is a programme of the Department of Economic Development and Tourism, which was established to afford local businesses an opportunity to access low-cost finance to become self- sustainable. Businesses have an opportunity to apply for finance ranging from R0 to R100 000 through Casidra who, in turn, will manage...
FIRST CLASS PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION
The Western Cape Department of Agriculture (WCDoA) and its implementing agency, Casidra, continue to roll out the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme (CASP) successfully to the poor communities within the Province. Since the inception of the CASP Programme more than 10 years ago, we have seen a rapid growth in terms of the number of farmers who have benefitted from CASP funding in the Western Cape. From January until March this year, the following projects were selected, and successfully implemented and...
Jackalskraal receives new Chalets
Another great highlight was the unveiling of newly-built chalets for the Griqua’s Jackalskraal farm on Saturday, 28 March 2015. These chalets were made possible by Casidra’s efforts after sourcing funding from the National Lottery Board (NLB). Eventually, the NLB released this funding after extensive delays due to a lengthy process of heritage requirements. During the inception, Casidra identified an opportunity for the Kranshoek Griqua Community Trust (KGCT) to develop a cultural tourism project on the Jackalskraal community farm that...