Bayer and Khula announced a strengthened partnership designed to help more South African farmers unlock access to tools, skills, finance, and market connections.
The partnerships will help farmers build sustainable, profitable farming businesses, creating opportunities across rural communities and strengthening the country’s food system.
Karidas Tshintsholo, CEO of Khula, said South Africa’s emerging farmers have the ambition and resilience to build thriving businesses.
“What’s often missing is a connected pathway, credible data, the right capability support, access to finance, and a clear route to market. This partnership brings those pieces together so that more farmers can participate confidently in the formal economy and grow sustainable livelihoods,” he said.
Mildred Nadah Pita, head of public affairs at Bayer in Africa, said that at Bayer, they believe agriculture can be a powerful driver of inclusive growth when innovation is matched with practical, on-the-ground support.
“By combining Bayer’s expertise with Khula’s digital platform and ecosystem partnerships, we are helping more farmers strengthen productivity, build resilience and access the opportunities that enable long-term success,” Pita said.
The Bayer × Khula Farmer Accelerator
The Bayer × Khula Farmer Accelerator is designed to address food security, market access, and funding access by strengthening funding readiness for emerging farmers.
Bayer has committed R7.5 million as ecosystem investor and launch partner, with Khula as implementing partner and host of the Farmer Accelerator. This is to prepare 50 emerging farmers over the next 12 months to access production finance in their own name and participate more fully in formal markets.
According to the statement from Bayer and Khula, the accelerator is a capacity-building accelerator, not a grant, subsidy, sponsorship or input distribution initiative.
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Turning farmer potential into participation
Across South Africa, farmers are ready to grow, yet too many remain on the margins of formal agricultural value chains because critical enablers such as finance, inputs, compliance support and markets are not connected in a way that works for them. Bayer and Khula said they are aligning these building blocks so that ambition can translate into bankable, scalable farming businesses.
Through this partnership, Bayer and Khula! will help bridge the gap by:
- Strengthening farmer readiness, not only product access.
- Helping farmers build track records and credibility over time.
- Connecting farmers to finance and structured markets through an integrated ecosystem.
Advancing climate resilience and productivity
As climate variability increasingly shapes when and how farmers can plan and plant, the partnership prioritises practical solutions that protect productivity and improve financial viability season after season.
Through the partnership, Bayer supports climate-smart agriculture with a focus on:
- Resilient seed technologies
- Improved soil and crop management practices
- Efficient and responsible input use
The approach is designed to make sustainability practical and economically viable, helping farmers lift yields while strengthening resilience.
Enabling digital inclusion and data-driven farming
A key component of the partnership is integrating digital tools into the farmer journey so that producers can capture credible farm data, make informed decisions and demonstrate performance to funders and markets.
Through the Khula platform and Bayer’s on-the-ground support, farmers can benefit from:
- Digital farm mapping and profiling
- Access to inputs via digital platforms
- Creation of farm-level data and records
In turn, these digital records help farmers:
- Build a financial track record
- Access funding opportunities
- Improve traceability and unlock market access
The partnership’s success will be tracked through real improvements in farmers’ livelihoods, including:
- Increased productivity and yields
- Improved income stability
- Greater resilience to climate and market risks
- Access to finance and formal markets
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