With an estimated number of over two million smallholder or subsistence farmers in South Africa, the Grain SA Farmer Development Program is crucial in unlocking the potential of rural farming communities.

Bayer is one of the key partners funding and supporting this initiative and commissioned the documentary, “Blessings”, produced by No-Line Productions to show the power of partnerships in changing the future of farming in Africa.

The documentary was showed for the first time to an external audience on 26 July 2022 during a special screening at the Irene SterKinekor cinema in Pretoria, South Africa. The premiere of “Blessings” came complete with a red carpet, popcorn and media attention. The stars of the show were undoubtably the farmers featured in the documentary as their hard work and will to learn and succeed in the crop farming industry came alive on screen.

These farmers mainly cultivate maize and soybeans on small to medium sized farmland. They are all members of Grain SA and active participants in the Farmer Development Program that includes technical guidance, access to farming inputs and mentorship.

As shown in the documentary many farmers have moved from start-ups to scale-ups through partnerships with Grain SA and government, as well as with other industry role players such as Bayer. 

“For us at Bayer, Africa is a growth continent. A substantial part of this growth is the impact that we have on smallholder farmers and subsistence farmers,” says Klaus Eckstein, Country Divisional Head at Bayer Crop Science Southern Africa. He says their partnership with Grain SA is enabling education and training to empower smallholder subsistence farmers in South Africa to not only acquire knowledge, but to use and adopt the technology available.

Since its inception in 1999, Grain SA has been involved in farmer development. “This is an opportunity that can change the food security and nutrition picture of many households in South Africa” says Sandile Ngcamphalala, Farmer Development Lead at Grain SA. “That really excites me, and I want to be part of that future”.

Parusha Pillay, BBBEEE Manager at Bayer South Africa, adds that Bayer is uniquely positioned through its resources, knowledge and capabilities to make a meaningful difference within this space. Grain SA runs the program from each of their regional offices, with managers, coordinators and a network of trainers and mentors to achieve this. These nine regional offices are spread throughout South Africa, with over 260 active farmer study groups currently.

“Becoming profitable and more efficient brings more jobs to rural communities, makes farming easier and enables smallholder farmers to send their children to school and university. They are not just farmers, but entrepreneurs in the true sense of the word,” says Dudu Mashile, Bayer Territory Sales Manager: Smallholder & New Era Commercial.

According to Dr Dirk Strydom, Marketing Lead at Grain SA, getting these small-scale producers to get commercial yields from the land they farm on to is the ultimate goal of this initiative. For this, they need access to good quality seed, crop protection products and fertilizers. “Bayer plays a big role in helping us to give that access to producers, access to the right technology,” he says.