About
OneFarm Share is a digital food relief platform primarily aimed at combat food shortages in rural areas, but also looks to reduce the high levels of food waste and increasing market accessibility for emerging and commercial farmers.
Innovation presentation
OneFarm Share is a digital food relief platform, established in response to the food and job security crises brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. It forms part of the OneFarm platform, a digital business-to-business platform to connect and provide services across the agricultural ecosystem through Lend, Protect, Grow, Trade and Share services. OneFarm Share’s solution has enabled both commercial and emerging famers to sell their produce through alternative channels, ensuring that they can continue to maintain operational income during these challenging times. The produce is then used to feed those who are without sufficient food owing to the pandemic. Since 9 November 2020, 1000 tonnes (1 000 000kg) of produce has been delivered to accredited beneficiary organisations, providing approximately 4 million meals to over 350 000 people across all South African provinces.
The main aim of the project is to combat food shortages in rural areas as a result of the pandemic. However Standard Bank have also identified the following objectives of the project:
• Increase food supply to certified recipients
• Procure food at significantly less than market prices
• Reduce high levels of food waste
• Improve coordination in relief food distribution
• Increase transparency and confidence in the donor system
• Increase market accessibility for local, emerging and commercial farmers
In 2021, given the ongoing impact of Covid-19 in South Africa, the above need for food relief and providing farmers with a mechanism to reduce food waste remained high. OneFarm Share has continued to provide both commercial and emerging farmers with an alternative market for their produce. For commercial farmers, OneFarm Share provides a mechanism to donate, or sell at a reduced price, their non-premium or excess produce. For emerging farmers, it is a viable way to enter a digital marketplace and, in many cases, for the first time, have access to a large, consistent buyer.
Uniqueness of the project
OneFarm Share is aimed at providing an alternative market for farmers, not replacing their original main market channels. What sets this initiative apart is the speed at which the product has gone to market and the immediate impact it has been able to have – both on farmers and on vulnerable people needing food relief. It is also the first market of its kind in South Africa, directly linking farmers to beneficiary organisations to reduce food waste via a digital platform and enabling farmers to receive a Section 18A Donations Tax Certificate. OneFarm Share has also helped emerging farmers improve their planning and reduce their costs as they are ensured that large volumes of produce will be procured from them without having to cover the cost of logistics. The OneFarm Grow agronomy platform will, when launched in South Africa, assist them in improving yields and increasing profitability enabling sustainable growth for the future.
