June 15, 2021

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

Are blueberries the new gold?

Johannesburg and London-listed gold miner Pan African Resources (PAR) has stated that “desperate” conditions in the local community are driving the company to diversify into blueberry farming as a way to create a parallel economy. 

“Barberton Mines has been going for 150 years,” Cobus Loots, CEO of PAR, told ENCA in a video interview. “We have many more years ahead of us of profitable gold mining, but we have limited opportunities for new employment and economic opportunities within the gold mining space.” 

PAR is investing R40 million (US$2.9 million) to build a 15-hectare blueberry farm in at Barberton, Mpumalanga (where PAR’s flagship gold mine is located), as the first phase of a multi-phase farm project designed to create jobs and boost the long-term standard of living for local communities through training and skills development. 

Over the years, PAR’s Baberton operation has consistently gone above and beyond the socioeconomic responsibilities required of the company by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy in order to maintain its license – a standard that is reflected in this “beyond compliance” project put in motion by PAR’s Barberton Mines.

“The mine has surplus land and water that presented a wonderful agricultural opportunity, and we engaged with farming specialists to identify a high yield export crop that is in high demand, and that will thrive in the local climate and environment,” said Loots.

The blueberry industry in South Africa is in a state of growth. Given the country’s favorable climate and standing as a producer of high-quality fruit, South African blueberry exports soared more than 50 percent year-on-year to 12,282 tons in 2020.

It is this demand that PAR intends to capture in order to mitigate the rampant unemployment in Barberton.

Having already brought on an expert partner to establish the farm, Phase I of the project, which encompasses 114,000 blueberry bushes planted on 15 hectares of fallow mining land equal in size to 15 rugby fields, has already created 80 employment opportunities. And once operational, will generate 20 permanent jobs and as many as 375 seasonal jobs picking berries between June – October every year.

“We are acutely aware that a mine cannot employ everyone in its surrounding communities and wanted to create a parallel economy that not only provides additional employment, but that builds sustainable economic opportunities for the town long after the life of the mine has passed,” said Loots.

Planned second and third phases will follow, with another 50 hectares of land earmarked for further farm development that will provide as many as 800 jobs for the surrounding communities, where those who aren’t already employed by the mines are widely reliant on social programs to survive.

Once the third phase is completed, and workers from the surrounding area have been trained and are assuming the multiple roles needed to ensure the long-term profitability and sustainability of the farm, PAR’s ultimate goal is to shift the project into the hands of the community itself, so that the local economy can continue to thrive.

“At this early stage of the project we have already begun to see the benefits in the wellbeing of the communities around the farm,” said Loots. “The continued prosperity of the farming project is likely to further revitalize the community through improved opportunities for local retailers and other businesses, as well as possibly leading to other growth opportunities in the area, such as packaging and logistics facilities.”

– Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Oilseed & Grain News. She can be reached at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.com.