Corporate Social Review Magazine 1st Quarter 2012 | Page 40

Funder Support Stories Buhle has an enormous grocery bill – feeding our 300 students per year is no small feat. We are literally running a hostel on our farm outside Delmas and we would not be able to do this without the ongoing and generous support of Tiger Brands. Tiger Brands Tiger Brands supplies us with dry food stuffs -including rice, mealie meal, tinned goods and dry beans to the value of R24,000 per month. With this support we are able to run a nutritious and sustainable kitchen ensuring that our trainees are properly fed for the duration of their courses. farmers as a result of the work that Buhle is doing. We at Tiger Brands believe that all of this training will, in the future, result in agricultural produce being poured into the economy which will ultimately contribute to our own value chain.” BoniDlamini-Makola, the CSI Manager at Tiger Brands, attended our graduation in 2011.She said: “Food Security is one of Tiger Brands’ main focus areas. With Buhle we have found a space to support an organisation that trains people to do something for themselves with regard to food security. I am very excited about Buhle, it is wonderful to see so many successful black The Maize Trust is one of our oldest supporters. Since 2004 they have been assisting Buhle by providing grants for our Crop Production Course. Thanks Tiger Brands, we at Buhle couldn’t do it without you! The Maize Trust This is Buhle’s longest and most expensive training section. Through it Buhle selects, trains and prepares promising young candidates to start up as effective crop farmers. Leon Du Plessis, from the Maize Trust explains: “It is the practical nature of the training that Buhle does that makes us support their programme. As the Maize Trust we realised the dire need that exists in South Africa to train black farmers. We are constantly looking for new and better ways to do that and we like what Buhle is doing in this regard. The way that Buhle structures their training and its practical nature means that many students can be put through a course each year, and come out with the knowledge and practical skills to be effective farmers.” Buhle is proud of our association with The Maize Trust and grateful for their support. Omnia very generously supplies Buhle with 19 tons of fertilizer for our crop production programme. Omnia With Omnia’s support we plant 43 ha’s maize, 12 ha’s lucerne and 7 ha’s of vegetables. The total value of their contribution is approximately R255,000 per annum. And, as if this was not enough, Omnia goes further. They also pay for a trainer on our crop course who also provides our crop farmer support. This role is filled by a specialised agronomist, who is very committed to our vision and mission. Thank you Omnia – we at Buhleare privileged to have your generous assitance and theinvaluable assistance of this associate staff member! Students at Buhle 38 CORPORATE SOCIAL REVIEW