DR Naudé Malan from the department of anthropology and development studies at the University of Johannesburg and Juanita van der Walt, head of the Department of Transport’s supply chain management, paid a visit to Hofmeyr.
Malan is the convener of iZindaba Zokudla, a multi-stakeholder engagement project that creates opportunities for urban agriculture in a sustainable food system, while Van der Walt heads a case study research project on economic innovation and is developing a social media system for emerging farmers for iZindaba Zokudla.
They visited Hugs of Hope after hearing about the project on the radio.
Malan was interested in Hugs of Hope, as it represents an innovative way of engaging with poverty and unemployment and he hopes to involve the organisation in the activities of iZindaba Zokudla in the future.
Malan also delivered a lecture to Hugs of Hope, sharing stories about iZindaba Zokudla and how it emerged among small farmers in Soweto. He recommended that people take a look at newer developments in agro-ecological farming.
These approaches aim at enabling farmers to produce without reliance on capital intensive chemicals and mechanisation. This is most appropriate for backyard and small scale and emerging farmers.
These approaches depend on ecological knowledge and lead to new kinds of enterprises.
Agriculture can help in poverty relief if emerging farmers adopt self-reliant methods and de-link themselves from capital intensive conventional systems.
These approaches also hold potential for large commercial farmers.
Malan also mentioned how emerging and small enterprises could enable income generation.
The visit has emphasised the need to innovate in society to address poverty, unemployment and inequality.
