Our farmers and our country can’t afford to waste fresh produce

[{“type”:”text”,”content”:”When combined, fruits, vegetables and cereals account for 70% of the wastage and loss, primarily occurring ***early*** in the food supply chain. nnThe energy wasted every year in South Africa for producing
food that is ***never consumed*** is estimated as sufficient to power the City of Johannesburg for roughly 16 weeks (WWF: Food Loss and Waste: Facts and Futures Report).nnAs farmers know, the amount of produce going to spoil is a catastrophic waste of economic activity; farmers spend time, energy, money, and critical resources to produce these crops.nnDuring an era of untold challenges, from flood to drought to riots, loadshedding, Transnet strikes and rocketing fuel and fertiliser prices, the impact of the wasted efforts on farmers, personally, and on the wellbeing of their communities, is immense.nnThatu2019s without considering that an estimated 12 million South Africans donu2019t know where their next meal will come from. nn> On the one hand, food is being wasted while economic value is lost; on the other, millions of hungry people go without food. nn#### A powerful partnership to rescue foodnnIn 2021, Agri SA Disaster Relief Foundation launched a surplus food programme allowing farmers to donate their excess produce. nnThis year, the OneFarm Share platform stepped in to become Agri SA Disaster Reliefu2019s implementation partner and smoothly distribute donations to two and a half thousand registered charity organisations.nnThis meaningful partnership enables Agri SAu2019s farming members to make a significant difference in our country u2013 personally, environmentally, and socioeconomically.nn#### At last, the solution to the problem of what to do with your surplus; who knew it was this easy to make an impact?nn**As an Agri SA member, you can easily donate produce for OneFarm Share to distribute responsibly.** Standard Bank founded OneFarm Share in partnership with Agri-FinTech HelloChoice in response to pervasive food insecurity and the excess fresh produce that resulted from the pandemic. This hunger relief and food security platform digitally matches farmersu2019 excess produce to registered beneficiary organisations via key distribution partners such as FoodForward SA and SA Harvest. Together, they provide an easy, secure, and transparent way to channel essential food directly to vulnerable communities. nnThe partnership with Agri SA demonstrates the organisationsu2019 shared commitment to reducing food insecurity in South Africa. Through the Agri SA Disaster Relief Foundation, Agri SAu2019s members will provide products that OneFarm Share will distribute through its pioneering HelloChoice digital platform.nn> Agri SA will help OneFarm Share reach its target of distributing more than 40 million meals to 1.2 million South Africans in 2022 alone.”,”position”:0,”id”:”fYq0WzRDOEQL3C94″}]