Agri Kultuur November 2018 | Page 50

Agriculture is one of the few industries that can be left to future generations Brian Berkman I f you plant an apple or pear tree today, you might have to wait up to five years before you see the first fruit and up to seven years before the tree is in full production. This means that money must be invested in land, labour, water and pesticides for many years before break-even point and even longer for profit. Later, fruit packing and storage needs to be added to the budget. According to Agnes Lekhori, Administration AgriKultuur |AgriCulture Clerk at Bellcro - a joint-venture apple and pear farm owned by the workers at Bellvue Farm, the government and Crookes Brothers Limited (CBL), agriculture is something you do today for tomorrow and for future generations. “Bellcro is a recent business entity in the Villiersdorp valley in a five-year strategic partnership with CBL. The land was purchased by the government and the workers at Bellvue 50