While black-owned winegrape farms face serious challenges like climate unpredictability and limited resources, the BAP initiative is changing the narrative. Vinpro viticulturist Logan Jooste explains how the initiative equips black winegrape farmers with the resilience and technical skills needed to overcome climate and financial hurdles.
The Black Farmer Advisory Program (BAP), developed by South Africa Wine NPC and Vinpro NPC, has emerged as a pivotal initiative driving inclusive transformation, resilience, and socio-economic upliftment in South African viticulture.
More than an advisory service, it serves as a blueprint for inclusive grower development, combining technical expertise, economic sustainability, and strategic innovation.
Based on a review of the programme, conducted by Agriculture Extension expert Prof. Francois Lategan, assessing activities set out for the four-year levy funding cycle ending in 2025, the programme demonstrates how structural inequalities can be addressed through comprehensive support and forward-looking planning.
South Africa’s wine industry, particularly in the Western Cape, has seen growth in black-owned winegrape farm holdings, yet producers continue to face challenges, including limited resources, climate unpredictability, and financial instability.
Inside SA’s black wine farmer blueprint
The BAP was designed to develop skills and promote sustainability across wine production systems, strengthen adaptive capacity, and enable systemic participation in the wine value chain.
South Africa Wine funds transformation by redirecting 20% of statutory levies to development activities and collaborates with Vinpro to provide technical training, mentorship, and market intelligence. Together, they integrate institutional frameworks with on-the-ground support to ensure impact and sustainability as businesses mature.
In-depth interviews with programme-supported producers were conducted by Prof Lategan to thoroughly analyse the programme’s impact. The programme’s evaluation drew on several behavioural and strategic theories.
The Gestalt Theory contextualises producers’ experiences within broader ecosystems, showing how producers’ mental framing influences risk perception and decision-making.
The Theory of Change linked training inputs to long-term productivity and resilience, while the Theory of Planned Behaviour explained the adoption of innovation through attitudes, norms, and perceived control. These frameworks enable consultants to tailor support, moving beyond one-size-fits-all towards personalised engagement models.
Overall, Lategan identified three interlinked concepts that highlight the success of the South Africa Wine-funded programme: resilience, vulnerability, and adaptive capacity, as reflected in the weighted responses shown in Figure 2.
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Addressing challenges
Resilience is the ability to adapt to uncertainty, and diversification strengthens long-term outcomes. Vulnerabilities such as water availability, market misalignment, and extreme climate events were addressed through advisory inputs and disaster management funds. The positive impact of timely advice was evident during the 2023 Breede River flooding, when support enabled targeted relief efforts.
Producers’ adaptive capacity improved markedly, with over 70% reporting enhanced confidence, technical skills, and decision-making abilities after enrolling in the programme. Gains included valuable inputs on vineyard design, irrigation management, and sustainability practices. Importantly, the study emphasised that stability does not equal resilience, but equipping producers with agility and innovation is essential.
Through the BAP survey, Vinpro’s technical consultants provided qualitative insights into the programme’s effectiveness, which could be synthesised into a SWOT analysis:
- Strengths included robust vineyard management guidance, structured mentorship, and alignment with sustainability goals.
- Weaknesses included limited financial literacy support and weak integration into downstream wine value chains.
- Opportunities lay in digital advisory platforms, leadership development, and producer brand positioning.
- Threats included overdependence on programme support, ageing demographics, and rigid funding structures.
Applying the Adapted Sustainable Value Framework to the BAP programme revealed strong downstream contributions to community development, eco-efficiency, and knowledge transfer, but underperformance in financial literacy and market diversification.
To optimise future iterations, the study recommended revising funding models to enable flexible financing, introducing modular training in business and leadership, and specifically focusing on strengthening producer identity and recognition, enhancing stakeholder engagement, digitising advisory services, and continuously monitoring and recalibrating strategies.
Building an inclusive industry
In conclusion, the BAP demonstrates that addressing structural inequalities is possible through comprehensive advisory services, strategic collaboration, and forward-looking planning.
Despite facing funding and visibility challenges, the programme has made tangible advances in resilience, adaptive capacity, and inclusivity. With further expansion and refinement, it could significantly influence South Africa’s wine industry.
This collaborative effort between two like-minded industry bodies aims to build an inclusive, transformed sector, contributing to the broader goal of redefining sustainable growth in South Africa’s vibrant agricultural economy.
- The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Food For Mzansi.
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