Gauteng Smallholder Gauteng Smallholder September 2017 | Page 21

From page 17
“The beauty of running a
small operation means the
ability to have hands-on
quality assurance for the
customer,” says Mabela.
Mabela and her team place
their hives in crops for
pollination throughout the
From page 17
upmarket chainstores and
supermarkets, although
farmers' markets and speciality
shops selling, for example,
only certified organic produce
are becoming more popular
(although they still account for
a tiny proportion of the
whole).
For lower income South
Africans, lower-end supermar-
kets, s paza shops and street
traders make up a huge
percentage of outlets, while
SMART SMALLHOLDERS
year and move the hives
according to the seasons.
Because of this, the honey is
never the same and custom-
ers have come to expect a
variety in flavours and types
of honey: blue gum, avocado,
macadamia and sunflower are
the most common for Native Nosi.
Recently, Mabela has
been able to buy her
own extractor and
heating tank. This means
she can assure Native
for the rural poor, informal
traders and spaza shops and
general dealers are the
preferred outlets.
And here's a double whammy
which increases prices for
those at the lower end of the
spectrum. A rich buyer is able
to drive to an upmarket
shopping centre supermarket
in a cavernous Sandton
tractor, take advantage of
bulk-buy bargains and use a
credit card or purse that is full
enough to allow for a large buy-up.
negotiate the volume
A lower-end buyer, however, discounts of the large
relying on smaller traders and upmarket retailers.
unable to afford bulk-buy
discounts, must also contend
with the very real logistical
problem of carting the
purchases home ~ on foot, or
in a taxi, train or bus. Such a
buyer is thus limited to the
size of purchase possible, and
also pays more for the
equivalent item than the rich
buyer, because the shop from
which she buys cannot
Right: Pretoria North bee-
keeper, Moloko Mabela
Continued on page 20
#SAFoodCrisis
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