They have now largely solved the coriander problem, but Roy says they do not follow full organic farming practices. They do not use harsh chemicals or excessive chemical fertilisers, but rather what is needed to maintain soil fertility and support the plants. Increasingly, they use non-chemical products for spraying and soil management, which helps to reduce plant stress and disease pressure.
“ With coriander, we have mastered production by getting the soil right,” Roy says.
Labour, markets and risk
AGRICULTURE
Roy says labour is still the biggest expense on the farm. Between 50 and 60 staff members are employed every morning, and the business runs an incentive-driven remuneration system.
“ Because we can produce coriander when there is almost none left in the market, we can push the price up from about R80 per box to more than R800 in the lean season.”
For coriander, they worked out how much can be picked and how many boxes can be packed, and staff are paid according to output. The same applies to lettuce and the number of punnets picked and packed. An automatic reporting system in the field records every individual’ s output.
“ Managing incentive systems has changed labour output, but maintaining quality is still the challenge. Production must be there for the market, but quality remains important. The difficult part is slowing workers down enough to maintain quality,” Roy says.
The vegetables are mainly marketed in Durban, with excess stock sent to Johannesburg. Roy keeps a close eye on the