Recognising this Moumo aims to establish a commercial agricultural industry on land wholly owned and administered by the RBN.  The intention of the project is to align with the North West Agro Processing Strategy and develop an integrated agricultural value chain in the region, with an initial emphasis on cattle production and processing.  In addition to the optimal use and re-use of marginal land, the production of a red meat value chain also fits in well with traditional Bafokeng farming practises currently practised in the region. In essence, the project entails farming of cattle, breeding, feed production, processing and packaging of red meat products.

At the centre of the project is the farming and breeding of cattle, in which community involvement is key and structures are being developed to ensure cooperation and inclusion of the community into this commercial venture. Through community involvement, skills development will be undertaken with a view toward improving the farming method and quality of livestock produced in order for a good proportion of the livestock are of suitable quality for processing this making significant contributions in terms of job creation, poverty relief and improved agri-business development.


Synergies and partnerships

• Beefmaster
• Royal Bafokeng Enterprise Development
• Royal Bafokeng Agricultural Unit

Benefits

• Job creation
• Development of sustainable land uses
• Stock quality improvements
• Providing market access to community farmers
• Economic growth
• Food security

Current status and next steps

At present the viability of developing a commercial and breeding herd is being undertaken. The project is aimed at developing a commercial herd to meet product supply demand and a breeding herd to improve the quality of traditional Bafokeng owned cattle in order to ensure that livestock of suitable quality will be farmed in the region.  In addition to the cattle, a 50 ha plot is also being assessed as a vegetable farming area with a processing plant.  Agreements with potential off-takers have, in principle been put in place pending the outcome of the viability of the commercial and breeding herd. In parallel, a process to identify communal farmers who will become part of the farming cooperative are being identified and a structure put in place to regulate their interaction and involvement in the commercial project.