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Food For Mzansi

Farmworkers’ son brings new outlook to Culdevco board

by Duncan Masiwa
10th March 2021
in News
Reading Time: 5 mins read
A A
Culdevco

Commercial farmer Sewis van der Horst, the son of farmworkers, has joined Culdevco's board of directors. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Sewis van der Horst, the son of farmworkers and an award-winning farmer in his own right, is set to bring deep expertise and perspective as he joins the Culdevco board of directors.

The 2019 Toyota New Harvest winner owns Loufontein, a commercial-scale fruit farm in Villiersdorp in the Western Cape. In an exclusive interview with Food For Mzansi he says he looks forward to contributing to the advancement of the industry, as well as sharing his knowledge and experiences spanning over two decades.

Today, Culdevco is a major player in global deciduous fruit licensing and the commercialisation of these fruit varieties. The group consists of five shareholders, namely Hortgro Stone, Hortgro Pome, the Canning Producers’ Association, the South Africa Table Grape Industry and Raisins SA.

Van der Horst also serves on the board of the SAPO Trust, a deciduous fruit plant improvement organisation, and the producer board of Hortgro Pome.

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Duncan Masiwa: Being appointed to the Culdevco board of directors is quite an achievement, especially given your own background in agriculture. What does this mean for you?

Sewis van der Horst: The appointment ensures and means access to conversations that deal with the fruit industry. It’s an opportunity to contribute to the advancement of the industry for all as well as discuss the challenges of the industry, new varieties, new ways of thinking, new and improved plant material available to the industry.

It means that I will also get to know exactly how we compete or compare with the international players in terms of cultivar development and marketing.

What do you hope to accomplish in this role?

To truly contribute. I want to share my knowledge of the industry as a producer and what we really need from Culdevco.

  • Van der Horst receiving his reward for new harvest of the year at the 2019 Toyota SA and Agri-SA awards. Photo: Supplied/FoodForMzansi
  • A Loufontein farm worker labeling a crate of pears before it is transported to the pack house. Photo: Facebook
  • Sewis van der Horst and the project officer for the department of rural development, and land reform, Oratile Soldaat, tasting fresh apples in Villiersdorp. Photo: Facebook
  • The Loufontein farm workers sorting pears after harvesting. Photo: Facebook
  • Van der Horst believes there’s an urgent need for access to land and finance models that will accommodate new entrants with lower rates and/or blended finance. Photo: Facebook
As an award-winning fruit farmer, what are the challenges you believe need urgent attention in the fruit industry?

We need to work closely with mainstream or organised agriculture. We need access to land and finance models that will accommodate new entrants with lower rates and/or blended finance. We need to own the farms we lease to enable us to operate as normal producers

What is the most rewarding part of your job?

Contributing to food security, providing jobs, but also to live out my passion. Agriculture is innovative and we will need to be much smarter in order to stay sustainable.

Honestly speaking, was agriculture always your number one career choice and did you ever think that you would be this successful?

Agriculture was the obvious choice. I always knew I wanted to farm, but doing it for yourself is the ultimate. I know I will be able to function outside of primary agriculture, but for 27 years I have been in commercial agriculture and I am not going to make any moves now.

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Tags: Culdevcofruit farmerHortgro PomeLounfontein FarmRaisins SASAPO trustTable grapes SA
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Duncan Masiwa

Duncan Masiwa

DUNCAN MASIWA is a budding journalist with a passion for telling great agricultural stories. He hails from Macassar, close to Somerset West in the Western Cape, where he first started writing for the Helderberg Gazette community newspaper. Besides making a name for himself as a columnist, he is also an avid poet who has shared stages with artists like Mahalia Buchanan, Charisma Hanekam, Jesse Jordan and Motlatsi Mofatse.

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