World poverty is increasing; jobs are becoming more insecure, war, land reform, increased fuel and gas prices are all resulting in higher food prices and
higher demands on earth’s resources.
“F
ood security, healthier living, sustainability, greener agriculture, home
grown” have all become global buzz
words in recent years. Despite South
Africa ranking as a middle income country, a fifth of
all households still struggle to access sufficient food.
According to a recent report from UNICEF, Africa’s
population will double to 2.4 billion people by 2050.
Two billion babies will be born in the next 35 years
and Africa will be home to 40% of the world’s children. The question is where will the food come from
to feed all these people? Food production is a major
concern worldwide and countries turn to the agricultural sectors to increase production.
Haygrove Tunnels has been providing tunnels to commercial farmers worldwide for many years, but believes the best way to address the food insecurity issue, is by empowering individual households to grow
food. Haygrove’s solution is supplying a small, affordable tunnel kit with all the required items to produce food in a protected environment. This initial kit
is called the Farm-in-a-box kit and consists of a
Haygrove Grow house, farming equipment, organic
components, practical training and 12 month mentorship. The proposed kit comes in different sizes to fit
the individual requirements and can also be a combination of different farming practices combined in one
tunnel.
Haygrove offer the following Farm in a box kits:
Vegetable Farm-in-a-box:
Each project initially begins with all the equipment
necessary for vegetable production. Equipment includes but is not limited to:
Haygrove Grow house/ small scale production unit:
4m x 10 m, 8.5 m x 15 m OR 8.5 m x 30 m
Haygrove tunnel
Irrigation System: Appropriate irrigation system for
tunnel (Drip or overhead) including pump and
tanks where required.
Farmer's Sprayer: 20 Litre Knapsack Sprayer
Vegetable seed pack: 5 types of vegetable seeds
Fertilizers: One season worth of required fertilizer
Soil conditioners: Treatment for one growing season
Fungicide / Insecticide: Environment Friendly product for one season crop protection
Growhouse implements: Spade/Rake/Fork/Hand
tools
Training: 3 day on site training offered on the usage of the kit.
Haygrove mentorship support package:
A Haygrove extension officer will visit Farm-in-a-box
projects at their site 3 times during a 12 month period to consult, advise and address any agricultural issues that may need attention.
During these visits the emerging farmers will be exposed to new technologies, growing techniques,
products and markets available. Continued offsite
telephonic and online/email support is offered during
this period.