South Africa’s deciduous fruit industry is growing stronger through the powerful partnership between Culdevco and Cultipowered. Together, they connect innovation with empowerment, ensuring that scientific breakthroughs benefit all growers.
Farming in South Africa’s deciduous fruit industry today calls for more than innovation alone; it requires a connection between breakthrough cultivars and inclusive support for growers.
Mishkaat Anderson, general manager at Culdevco, leads the commercialisation and marketing of new fruit varieties developed through the ARC’s breeding programme, ensuring that cutting-edge research is successfully translated into profitable, climate-appropriate cultivars for South African producers.
For the past 20 years, Culdevco has played a pivotal role in bringing ARC-bred fruit varieties to market, strengthening the sustainability and competitiveness of the local fruit industry. Dr Konanani Liphadzi, chair of Cultipowered, also plays a key role in advancing agricultural innovation within the sector.
On the other hand, Cultipowered takes these successes further by channelling returns back into empowering emerging farmers, facilitating access to these new varieties, investing in rural infrastructure, and building capacity for the next generation of growers and managers.
From research to market-ready cultivars
Focusing first on the journey from research to market-ready cultivars, Anderson explains Culdevco’s vital role: “We identify these selections and protect them from an intellectual property point of view; we test them under all commercial conditions and build a strong pathway so that growers can adopt them with confidence.”
Central to Culdevco’s approach are three pillars: profitability, adaptability, and sustainability. Their cultivars are carefully developed to meet strong consumer demand and deliver consistent export performance across South Africa’s diverse climate zones. Anderson notes, “Profitability comes from the cultivars that fulfil the consumer demand, that can withstand the supply chain inefficiencies from port to retailer, that have higher packouts, and ultimately are adaptable to the climatic conditions.”
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Equally important is sustainability. “We look at disease tolerance, low input costs, and longer orchard lifespan, which helps growers become more resilient and future-ready.
“For example, our diverse stone fruit offerings, such as Ruby Sun, African Delight, and Ruby Star, as well as the pear Cheeky, are praised for their eating quality, attractive appearance, and market traction, demonstrating the power of a well-structured breeding and commercialisation process.”
Empowering farmers through inclusive growth
Liphadzi defines the organisation’s mission as extending access to innovation. “Cultipowered ensures technology and research benefits do reach historically disadvantaged farmers,” she says.
Owning a 51% stake in Culdevco, Cultipowered reinvests profits from cultivar royalties into projects that empower new-era producers, strengthen rural infrastructure, and provide bursaries. “We support a whole range of initiatives ensuring black farmers have access to the latest cultivars produced through Culdevco and the ARC,” Liphadzi adds.
Cultipowered works closely with transformation managers and industry stakeholders to enable equitable participation. Their capacity-building programmes aim not only to support current farmers but also to secure the future talent pipeline for South African agriculture.
A shared vision for industry transformation
Both organisations operate within a seamless collaboration to drive transformation and sustainable growth in the deciduous fruit industry.
Culdevco commercialises scientific innovation into cultivars that boost profitability and resilience, while Cultipowered ensures these advances create inclusive opportunities across the sector.
By integrating innovation with empowerment, Cultipowered and Culdevco forge a powerful partnership dedicated to long-term benefits for South African fruit growers and the broader agricultural landscape.
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