SPAR South Africa began the SPAR Rural Hub in the Mopani District of Limpopo in 2017 to assist smaller producers in entering the formal value chain. The model provides relevant technical and food safety training, facilitates access to funding, and provides a guaranteed market for harvested produce. SPAR South Africa has invested significantly in the rural hub together with other institutions keen to grow small-scale farmers.

In addition to providing access to finance, the SPAR Rural Hub offers farmers vital training in good agricultural practice using the internationally renowned GLOBALG.A.P. certification. These farmers can now provide commercial volumes of crops at a quality level which complies with SPAR South Africa’s quality and food safety standards. In addition to this training, ongoing technical assistance comes from an in-house team of five agronomists who provide support and transfer skills to the farmers. This enables the farmers, after approximately five years, to be self-sustaining, thereby enabling other farmers to join the initiative. The farmers’ experience and land sizes vary from 5 to 80 ha, requiring bespoke support from South Africa’s SPAR Rural Hub technical team. 

Diverse buyers

The fresh produce supplied by the Rural Hub farmers is consolidated and packed at the SPAR Rural Hub operated packing facility in Limpopo under their own labels. In addition to selling to SPAR retailers, some Class 1 produce is sold to aggregators who then sell to other food retailers. This reflects SPAR South Africa’s desire to create value at a systemic level. At the end of 2023, the SPAR Rural Hub supported 11 dedicated small-scale farmers employing  137 people.  

Kagiso Trust support 

Working with finance institutions, SPAR South Africa assists farmers to gain access to input finance. Recently, the Kagiso Trust, through its Tyala Impact Fund, supported SPAR South Africa’s Rural Hub farmer development programme by awarding 10 rural hub farmers with ZAR300,000 each, marking a significant impact on these rural farming communities. The donation of ZAR3 million underscores SPAR Rural Hub’s success in transforming rural farming communities. 

“We are immensely grateful to Kagiso Trust and the Tyala Impact Fund for this generous sum,” said Kevin O’Brien, Group Sustainability Executive at The SPAR Group, including SPAR South Africa. ”This recognition is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the Rural Hub farmers and aligns with SPAR South Africa’s vision to enhance job creation, income generation, infrastructure development, skills transfer, and empowerment. The investment will enable the farmers to elevate their operations and contribute to food security and economic growth in their communities.” 

GlobalG.A.P Changemaker Award 

Furthermore, the SPAR Rural Hub received the Changemaker Award in the retailer category at the GLOBALG.A.P summit in Warsaw. This award recognises the hub’s impact on improving the farming industry in South Africa as outlined in the paragraph above. James Lonsdale, SPAR South Africa’s national sustainability manager, said the company’s goal is to boost the number of participating farmers and enlarge the cultivated area from the current 140 hectares while expanding it into South Africa’s other provinces.  

Access to this standard of certification would have seemed out of reach just a few years ago and it has enabled small-scale farmers to participate in formal retail market value chains that are typically reserved for large-scale commercial suppliers. Many farmers also continue to grow private crops for their communities. “It’s quite amazing to think,” James Lonsdale remarked, “that this rural farmer initiative up in Limpopo has received international recognition of this stature.” 

 Source: SPAR South Africa