Massmart to invest R15m in AgriBEE programme
According to Business Report, Massmart would invest R15 million to attract more than 1 500 black farmers to its supply chain within the next five years. Massmart supplier development executive Mncane Mthunzi said the company was aiming for a 30 percent procurement spend on fresh produce from black farmers who were either commercial farmers or involved in smallholder farming.
This agricultural black economic empowerment (AgriBEE) blueprint may be the first of its kind in South Africa's retail sector.
Massmart had signed a three-year supplier development deal with TechnoServe, an NGO involved with entrepreneurship and agricultural development in South Africa. About 30 farmers were identified in Limpopo and the company planned to woo more emerging black farmers, Mthunzi said, adding "we want to procure directly from farmers to the stores and we realised that we can't exclude small farmers. We want them to be part of our total procurement spend." Massmart aims to extend the programme to KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and other parts of the country, Business Report says.
Read the full article on www.iol.co.za.
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