Fresh start for the Soweto Imvelo
Market farmers
Organic
crops grown by the farmers
Story by Era Baloyi, UJ PR student
This month the Naledi open area in Soweto, near the
Police Station hosted the Soweto Imvelo Market.
The Imvelo Market is a community forum that encourages local farmers to
grow their own organic produce in order to sustain a living, create an income
and employment. The market was developed through the help of the University of
Johannesburg (UJ) Enactus student volunteers from the Centre for Small Business
Development (CSBD) based on UJ’s Soweto Campus.
People came in their numbers to support the market, with its fresh and
healthy produce. Enactus is an international non-profit organization that
brings together students, academics/academia and business leaders who are
committed to using the power of entrepreneurial action to enable progress
around the world.
First years CSBD UJ students helped the Soweto Imvelo Market with the
marketing of the event, making sure that the right messages reached the
targeted public, letting the residents
of Naledi know about the importance of farming and also encouraging them to
start their own small farming ventures. Other support provided included
advertising, project promotion to stakeholders, consumer education,
entertainment, organizing the project, security and safety measures,
administration, public and media relations as well as transport and logistics.
Farmer and salesperson from Emdeni Skills Development, Muzikayise Kheswa
announced that “Emdeni Skills Development is a home where we support people
with skills and knowledge in order to start them growing their own organic
produce.” Most people in townships do not understand the importance of
agriculture and that it offers so many opportunities. Agriculture helps sustain
food security since food insecurity is one of the major issues especially in
densely populated areas: no one wants to go hungry or see a loved one without food
on his or her table. Millions of people go to bed every day with empty
stomachs. If people could start their own gardens they can help prevent or at
least lessen this issue. Farming also
provides jobs, which will help disadvantage families. “I chose agriculture
because it deals with food and we need to balance our diet in order to have
energy” said Muzikayise Kheswa.
Region D Farmers’ Forum members, Nyaniso Mashabane and Sakhile Skhosana
pointed out that their forum was creating jobs for local communities and people
will no longer have to travel long distances to get fresh food or go to work.
Their vision is to stimulate agricultural economy in order to bring an income
to the region. The forum also equips people with skills that they need to cope
whenever challenges such as floods or droughts arise so that they can use the
skills and knowledge acquired from the forum to resolve the problem.
“We need to move away from subsistence farming to commercial
farming. Even if you farm on a small
scale you could do something about it and generate an income,” Nyaniso
Mashabane added. “Soweto Imvelo Market is trying to educate youth about the
production of crops and entrepreneurship so that when you combine the two
together, you will be able to see change and it will also boost the Soweto
economy,” Sakhile Skhosana added. Right now the forum is trying to capacitate
the farmers to be able to have an input in farming so that there may be more
affordable food available. This will also create jobs for people who have trucks
(bakkies) so that they can transport the produce from the farms to the market
every day.
Nyaniso Mashabane said that people have not yet seen the potential that
comes with agriculture: “Soweto Imvelo Market will transform into a big market
one day. This is only the beginning for the Soweto farmers and they are also
thinking of bringing livestock as the market grows to stimulate interest to
people who haven’t started farming yet.”
A success story that will be watched with much interest. It is spring now
– and the ideal time for new beginnings.
“Plant a garden today, and feed your family with the income generated
from the fruit and vegetables grown tomorrow.”
