When people come together, incredible things happen. This is the case with OneFarm Share, a platform powered by a partnership between HelloChoice and Standard Bank. Celebrating its first anniversary, OneFarm Share has facilitated the donation of approximately 7,000 tonnes of fresh produce, translating to 28 million meals for over 1 million people.
Hunger is a prolific issue in this country, and whilst there is an abundance of available food, there is a deficit in effective mechanisms to channel it to those who need it most. OneFarm Share has demonstrated its ability to find a low-cost, sustainable solution – and one that can operate at scale. It digitally matches food requests from registered charities with available fresh produce, and facilitates the logistical support needed to get the produce from farm to fork.
“OneFarm Share is underpinned by an ethos of collaboration across the agri-food value chain, with an aim of solving one of our country’s most pressing challenges. What we have witnessed in year one, is multiple stakeholders rising to the occasion and entrenching this collaborative principle far beyond what we had initially envisaged. What’s exciting is this collaboration is happening at both a macro and micro level,” says Wendy Pienaar, Head of Client Ecosystems at Standard Bank SA.
One of the key focus areas for the platform is empowering South Africa’s emerging farmers. They face continuous struggles with access to market, requisite logistical support, reliable offtake, and cashflow (to name a few). Through participation in OneFarm Share, emerging farmers are given access to new markets, paid fair market price for their goods, and provided with invaluable experience to assist them in effectively scaling their operations.
“What we have seen is that these farmers not only take this as an opportunity to develop their own businesses, but one to widen the reach and impact to neighbouring growers. Many of our emerging farmer contributors have created op-operatives to enable a bigger, more varied supply of produce. This has resulted in a phenomenal uplift for whole communities,” says Pienaar.
The funds that enable the platform to purchase from emerging farmers are provided by corporate donors who utilise the platform as a credible, auditable means to channel available CSI and ESG funds (with Section 18A certificates issued for their contributions). Beyond the much-needed financial support, these donors have become powerful networkers, connecting additional resources, partners, and contributors into the platform.
In a further example of partnership, OneFarm Share recently worked together with LIMA (a rural development organisation) to assist emerging farmers in the rural town of uMsinga in KwaZulu Natal with offtake and distribution of their potatoes. One of the platform’s commercial farmer contributors, based in Hammarsdale (some 3-hours away from uMsinga), learned of the initiative and offered his truck at a heavily discounted rate. With access to reliable transport being one of the primary challenges for the uMsinga farmers, this generous contribution made a world of difference.
“These instances of highly effective partnership and collaborative efforts are what set OneFarm Share apart,” says Pienaar, “we have a deep appreciation for all those who have enabled our first year to be as successful as it has been. Each contribution, regardless of scale, has had an exceptional impact. Seeing what we were able to achieve in year one has given us the confidence to set an ambitious goal of facilitating the donation of 10,000 tonnes by the end of 2022.”
Looking to the year ahead, OneFarm Share is poised to not only deepen its impact in addressing hunger and food insecurity, but also widen the reach of its influence to other areas of the agri-food value chain. In the spirit of collaboration, the platform is actively looking to establish effective partnerships with corporates and individuals who want to be part of the solution.
For more information on OneFarm Share, to make a donation or to register as a farmer or food contributor, please visit onefarmshare.co.za
