The owners and workers at one of South Africa’s leading citrus estates located in the Citrusdal Valley have celebrated another milestone in a significant programme of transformation and social development which started decades ago.
A new Community Centre, which was built at ALG Estates with the proceeds derived from premiums earned from an innovative marketing programme under the Fairtrade label in the US, has been opened by Vangile Titi Msumza, minister of agriculture to the South African Embassy in Washington DC.
The new community centre is located in a staff village at ALG Estates and was built at a cost of R500,000. It is the latest in a string of developmenst at the estate over the past decade.
“The success of this initiative is a result of the positive approach of the people who live on our farms and who work for us,” said Gerrit van der Merwe, chairman of ALG Estates. “This led to the development of strong relationships, healthy labour practices and assisted us in gaining Fairtrade certification a few years ago.”
Van der Merwe told dignitaries from the US and South Africa attending the opening that his company had made a deliberate decision during the early 1990s to embark on a social and economic development programme which would benefit the staff of the company.
“After the 1994 democratic elections new opportunities started opening up,' he continued. 'Today we can proudly say that 36 of our employees have become land owners on a profitable citrus farm, Cedar Citrus, which we started together. After the loans were paid off, these shareholders have been receiving dividends and bonuses for the past three years.'
He noted that the successful partnership between the Van der Merwe family and its staff had now reached the stage where the farm can be expanded to empower another ten shareholders.
“These ten workers, like the other 36, will become full shareholders and future partners in the value chain. This value chain includes pack house facilities, as well as marketing and logistic companies. This really put them in mainstream of the citrus industry in South Africa.
“Creating hope and opportunities remains our aim and education is probably the most important issue in this community. What better way to start creating a better future than doing so here at the roots of it all,” Van der Merwe outlined.
American consumers have opened their arms to the citrus fruit from ALG and Cedar Citrus, he explained.
“We are grateful to the American consumers who buy our fruit and are prepared to pay a premium which is returned to us here on the farm, helping to create facilities like the community centre we are opening today. This increases the quality of life for our people.”
Two American companies play a key role in the Fairtrade programme. Retail chain Wholefoods provides infrastructure, putting fruit on the shelves and conveying vital information to consumers about the way the fruit is produced and the needs of the local community. The other company is Capespan North America, which is a leading importer and service provider to ALG.
Van der Merwe says the AGOA Treaty, which dates back to the Bill Clinton era and encourages growth of agriculture in Africa and exports of African goods to the US, is of crucial importance for the partnership.
“We as the citrus industry in the Western Cape embraced this treaty and responded by building a very successful marketing programme in the US over the past 14 years. It is now worth US$60m – at the present level of the South African rand, some R640m. Around this we have built a huge infrastructure and created lots of job opportunities.”
The AGOA Treaty will be reviewed in 2015. “If we lose this programme today our export programme to the United States will have to close down,” he concluded.
