WAAIKRAAL FARM – THE PRIDE OF THE DYSSELSDORP COMMUNITY

Casidra’s Board paid an insightful visit to the Waaikraal Farm near Oudtshoorn. Waaikraal was identified to process raw material in Dysselsdorp, with the funds secured to implement new ventures on the farm spanning up to 1274 hectares.

The growing process of pasture feed for the herd starts on this farm and there are sufficient lucerne bales of feed stored for the year thereby serving as a micro-farm.  Currently, the farm generates sufficient revenue by selling this feed to its neighbouring farmers.

This farm further assists the Dysselsdorp community with their garden processes. Water flushing systems are implemented at the Stompdrift Dam whereby water is filtered for drinking and supplies the farm workers with clean drinking water.  “The wellbeing of the farm workers is important”, said Riaan Strydom, Senior Project Manager: Farm Support.

Water shortages are experienced, as many droughts occur every year. The farm management team’s responsibility is to ensure that the Satansbos plant does not spread any further or become overgrown. Implementation is a rising issue, as there is a lack of implements for the farm and the crime conditions in the area are challenging.

The Western Cape Department of Agriculture (WCDoA) assigns their technical advisors to inspect the farm and assist the operational management with strategic plans. Government funding is stipulated to sustain and maintain the operations on the farm.

There are several potential ventures in the pipeline for Waaikraal with a committed management team from Casidra.  “The conditions on the farm are surely to improve because we have experienced managers in place. Long- and short-term goals need to be achieved with strategic timeline implementations”, said Lusanda Ngxonono, a Board member.

Furthermore, the Board was happy with the potential of the farm and saw the need for more funding to achieve the Turnaround Plan of the farm before it gets handed over to the rightful beneficiaries.

Board member, Riccardo Temmers, concluded, “Maintenance and ownership are the key concerns faced by the Waaikraal farm and is achievable if all relevant stakeholders can be targeted to invest”.