By Buziwe Nocuze
- A Gugulethu farmer says the price of a tray of green peppers has jumped from R50 to R135 since 2020 because basic farming costs keep rising.
- Sellers say customers are walking away from green peppers, while shoppers say they have cut them out of their budgets completely.
Zukile Malusi from the Isibane Farming Project in Gugulethu started farming green peppers in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“At that time I was selling a tray of peppers for R50,” Malusi said. “Now we sell it for R135 because everything we use has become more expensive.”
He said fertiliser costs have doubled, rising from about R300 to much higher amounts over time.
“We don’t increase prices for fun,” he said. “The cost of living is too high and everything we use keeps going up.”
Malusi said the project avoids using chemicals and instead relies on salt and ash to fight insects. Salt is only bought when needed, while ash is collected from places that sell braai meat.
“Even when we try to save, the costs are still high,” he said.
The farming project employs four workers, pays monthly land lease fees of more than R1,000, and spends money on fertiliser, phone costs and basic supplies.
“When you add everything together, we are spending a lot of money,” Malusi said. “That’s why the price of peppers has increased.”
He said their main customers are old age homes that prepare meals for more than 90 people, and the project focuses on organic farming.
“We plant peppers in summer, but customers must understand that things have changed,” he said. “We see it ourselves when we buy groceries. Prices keep going up.”
Former pepper seller Zukhanye Mayengesi said she stopped selling green peppers because customers complained about the price.
“People would ask the price and just walk away,” she said. “I ended up throwing away peppers because no one was buying them.”
For shopper Nwabisa Mpengesi, green peppers are no longer part of her monthly budget.
“A small bunch with three peppers costs more than R15,” she said. “I have stopped buying them completely and now I only use onions.”
Pictured above: Green peppers.
Image source: Pexels
