An online platform connecting farmers with feeding schemes has seen 270 tons of excess produce – destined to be destroyed as waste – turned into meals for 190,000 people.
South Africa’s coronavirus-induced lockdown, which closed restaurants, hotels, and some small-scale produce markets created an oversupply and under-demand for fresh produce.
As a result, emerging farmers were forced to plough their vegetable crops back into the land or offload to livestock yards at a loss.
OneFarm Share, a platform developed by Standard Bank, in partnership with Non-Profit Organisation Food Forward SA and AgriTech pioneers HelloChoice, offers farmers an alternative.
The online match-making solution connects farmers with registered charity organisations to assist feeding programmes in vulnerable communities.
Millions of South Africans were pushed to the brink during the country’s lockdown, with mounting job losses and business closures threatening food security. Almost a fifth of South African households indicated that children had gone hungry, according to the National Income Dynamics Study – Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (NIDS-CRAM).
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