Veggie project goes provincial

Enterprise Ilembe’s latest pilot project ensures more than 155 000 pupils in 400 rural schools in Ilembe have lunch every day.
The flagship project, which has been running for a year, has been so successful that it will be extended to the rest of KZN from January, said economic development head Mike Newton.
“It is going extremely well and is going to change rural  poverty,” he said.
Newton said after he addressed provincial cabinet on the project’s progress they decided to roll the programme out to two million pupils in more than 5000 schools.
Aside from filling tummies the schools nutrition programme provides a much-needed income for the thousands of people who grow the fresh vegetables for the lunches.
Hundreds of tons of vegetables including butternut, cabbage, spinach, green beans, tomatoes and onions have already been grown for schools by the farmers in co-operatives in Ndwedwe, Maphumulo, Mandeni and KwaDukuza.
Excess vegetables are being sold to commercial customers, one of which is the Gooderson Hotel Group.
“We did not expect to break into the hospitality trade so quickly. Right now, the demand is bigger than our supply and that is a nice place to be. However, other customers are still being sought and the long term aim is to supply hospitals, clinics and prisons.”
“It is working like a charm and some co-operatives have already got more than R50 000 in their bank accounts. The project is achieving its aim of turning subsistence farmers into commercial farmers,” said Ilembe district mayor Welcome Mdabe.
The project received recognition for the best community project at the 2013 Municipality Excellence Awards in 2013.