The Solidarity Fund has committed an additional R52,8m to a third phase of their Farming Input Voucher (FIV) programme, aimed at supporting subsistence farmers, as well as the farming supply chain, during the pandemic.

This third farming input voucher programme went live on February 1 with the vouchers expiring on the April 30. The Solidarity Fund therefore calls on the approximately 26 000 farmers who have been issued with vouchers to go and redeem them at the network of input suppliers onboarded by the Solidarity Fund before they expire.

The list of input suppliers in each province can be accessed via the following link https://bit.ly/FIVSuppliers, while technical queries related to the vouchers can be directed to support@mezzanineware.com or via WhatsApp on (071) 689 4311.

The programme is aimed at providing support to identified farmers, who did not benefit from the first two phases of the programme, by issuing them with farming input vouchers to the value of R2 000 each. The aim is to facilitate self-employment, improve their livelihoods and to increase food production as well as access to food at a household level to meet basic food requirements. It is anticipated that the vouchers will benefit 25 000 households and contribute towards the food security of approximately 125 000 individuals.

The Fund has identified and contracted with three NGO’s for the rollout of the third phase of the FIV programme, namely:

• Lima Rural Development Foundation with 12 000 members;
• The Centane Lingelihle Agricultural Cooperative with a database of over 6 500 farmers; and
• South African Women in Dialogue (SAWID) which will add at least 6 500 members to the programme.

Their experience and previous infrastructure will ensure transparent beneficiary identification, as well as the efficient disbursement, tracking and monitoring of the issuing and redemption of the vouchers.

“Phases 1 and 2 of the programme have proven to be a resounding success with a redemption rate of 99%. Despite this, there is still a need to support the development of agricultural value chains, sustainable agriculture and food security, particularly for South Africans who have suffered job losses as a result of Covid-19, by providing agricultural inputs for own food production,” notes Wendy Tlou, executive head of humanitarian response & behaviour change pillars at the Fund.

Madumezulu Girlie Silinda, interim executive director of SAWID comments, “Subsistence farming, which is always at risk from climate change or economic factors, has been further and significantly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, putting millions of households at risk. Through my work at SAWID, I can see how this has particularly affected female subsistence farmers, who outnumber male subsistence farmers 3 to 1. Interventions such as this Voucher Input Programme will offer vital assistance when it is needed most. We therefore second the call from the Solidarity Fund for our network of subsistence farmers to speedily redeem their vouchers”

For more information on the third phase of the farming input voucher programme, and to assist farmers with any redemption queries, please visit  www.lima.org.za or call (033) 342 9043, contact The Centane Lingelihle Agricultural Cooperative on 083 728 9286 and email  tmagandana@gmail.com or visit www.sawid.org.za or call (011) 371 7705. Queries of a technical nature may be directed to support@mezzanineware.com or via WhatsApp on (071) 689 4311.