Corporate Social Review Magazine 1st Quarter 2012 | Page 38

everything I know...” he says. A survey done in 2009 shows that 90% of alumni are self employed. 80 % of these are farmers, 53 % produce on a commercial level, and 39 % at a semi commercial level. Only 8% have remained subsistence farmers. Buhle as an organisation also rises to challenges. In the last 15 years, the international donor community, which has been supporting the NPO sector, started requiring that local organisations generate a significant portion of their own income. This was a “big ask” for organisations who focus on the business of people development, not profits. It was a time when many organisations closed their doors. Buhle however, immediately rose to this challenge by establishing income generating farming activities on the training farm. Buhle now generates 18% of its R4 million annual budget. But 18% of R4 million is obviously not enough. Over the years Buhle has been fortunate enough to have partnered with national and international funders who are also passionate about training emerging farmers and contributing to the long term sustainability and stabili- 36 ty of the agricultural sector in South Africa. Monsanto Fund (USA) gave the seed funding needed to the organization when it started, and it has continued to suppo rt Buhle since inception. . In addition to Monsanto, Buhle remains grateful and indebted to many local corporate funders: The Maize Trust, Standard Bank, Tongaat Hulett Starch, Omnia, Tiger Brands and Afgri Operations have been big supporters of Buhle in the past 10 years. Without these partners, Buhle would not have existed, and graduates like Ellen, Jeremiah and Lawrence would not be where they are today. Buhle sits in a hot seat in terms of its current developmental challenges. Government has stated that by the year 2014, 30% of land needs to be in the hands of previously disadvantaged farmers. Buhle’s mission is to enable these new and emerging farmers to establish themselves in viable farming businesses. As Neil quite rightly says, “If a previously disadvantaged person receives a piece of land, without any idea of the enormity of what lies ahead, surely such an enterprise is doomed to fail? We need to train and support that person so that they can use the land productively, so that he or she can CORPORATE SOCIAL REVIEW Students at Buhle generate food, provide jobs, secure livelihoods from agriculture and build the agricultural sector”. Buhle’s vision is to expand into other provinces and agro-regions in South Africa, and to establish Farmers’ Academies in these areas. At the moment trainees come from all over the country, but significant costs could be cut and more people could be trained if their model could be replicated. “It’s a huge task”, Neil admits, “particularly if one looks at the funding challenges. But we at Buhle are passionate about our work, and we believe that with the right donor partners, we can turn a looming tragedy, into one of South Africa’s biggest success stories.”