- Experts at a Centurion food conference warned farmers to find buyers before planting, because fresh produce does not guarantee sales.
- Linda Siboto of U Can Foundation says farmers must team up for bigger markets and not rely on one crop.
Farmers who plant before they know who will buy their produce are taking a big risk. That was the warning from experts at the South African Future of Food Conference, hosted by Food For Mzansi in Centurion on Wednesday, 30 September.
The experts said good, fresh produce does not always guarantee a buyer.
Linda Siboto, chairman of the U Can Foundation, helps farmers find people or businesses that will buy their food. He said farmers need an off-take market, which means buyers for their produce.
“Farming without an off-take is very dangerous as it doesn’t guarantee success,” Siboto said.
He said one of the mistakes farmers make is planting without researching the market. Before they plant, they need to know which crops have a good market and how much they can expect. He also said farmers should not depend on one crop.
Selling to big retailers brings its own challenges, Siboto said, including water rights, logistics and compliance. Logistics can affect the price of produce and how much profit a farmer makes. Retailers such as Shoprite also set other requirements that farmers must meet before they can supply them.
“Small farmers need to work together so they can build enough capacity to supply bigger markets,” he said.
Cedric Nephawe, divisional manager at Joburg Market, said farmers must understand the market and what customers want.
“Come to the market, see your produce on the floor, and even engage customers to see what they are looking for, to know what the customer wants,” he said.
The Department of Agriculture says about 250,000 smallholder farmers and 1.5 million subsistence farmers needed support to access markets in July 2025.
