Urban farmers met on Thursday 25 June to form an Agrihub steering committee.

The meeting, held at the Rocklands Rugby Club, was called by the interim committee, which has been trying to get a Mitchells Plain Agrihub off the ground for four years.

Interim committee member Farouk Davids said the meeting was to form a more formal structure similar to those already operating in Langa, Khayelitsha and Gugulethu.

What is an Agrihub?

Agrihubs are a support structure for urban farmers that connects them to potential partners and resources, under the guidance of the South African Urban Food and Family Trust.

The Trust’s Lwando Sawule said the first attempt to replicate what has been done in other areas was in 2021 at Lentegeur Hospital in partnership with Living Soil, but that attempt floundered.

Since then the Trust has been working with the interim steering committee to secure another space and identify “local food producers”.

“We’ve found a location,” Sawule said, adding that a container with refrigeration will be put in that space.

What does the Trust do?

Sawule said the Trust supports urban farmers with training, resources, connections and funding.

“The main purpose now is we want the farmers to collect themselves into an organisation that they’ll be running,” he said. “We want them to have steering committees that make decisions for themselves.”

He said the Trust’s role was supportive and not governing.

“Each community does things differently. So we don’t come and impose our ways, but we can give advice,” he said.

The goal of the Agrihubs is to be self-governing, he said.

“We don’t have standard rules. The community should be the ones laying the ground rules for themselves and we need it to be fair and inclusive to everyone that needs that help,” he said.

Committee elected

The interim committee successfully elected six new members representing the different areas at the meeting. Their role will be to recruit new members representing every area in Mitchells Plain.

They will also be establishing a Tool Library for the hub members’ use, which will include basic gardening tools.

Davids, who was reelected as secretary, invited home gardeners, or people who have enterprises related to urban farming, such as making jams for personal use or for sale, to contact him.

Davids can be reached on 072 542 2067.

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