As more women step into farming and agribusiness, PepsiCo hosted an event titled “The business of being a woman in farming”. It brought together leaders in the agricultural sector to address the unique challenges faced by women in the agricultural sector.
Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist at the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz) who moderated the event, started by emphasising the importance of agriculture to South Africa’s economy. “When you consider agriculture and agro-processing, you’re sitting at around 8% of the GDP of South Africa. Even in terms of employment, it’s about 8% of the labour market,” he said.
Women nurturing the land
Anthony Viljoen, agronomy director at PepsiCo SA, acknowledged the importance of women in agriculture. “There’s a lot of data that shows if you were to leave agriculture in the hands of women, there would be a 20-30% uplift in productivity because women are nurturers,” he said.
He also emphasised the importance of agriculture to PepsiCo’s operations in South Africa. “Without farmers, we wouldn’t have a business. The sustainability and longevity of agriculture are crucial to us.
“Predominately people would think Pepsico is a beverage business but especially in South Africa, we have a range of agricultural products that span across almost the whole value chain,” he said.
Meanwhile, the PepsiCo’s Kgodiso Development Fund, founded in 2021, empowers black new-era farmers. Tshegofatso Selepe, the head of agribusiness at the fund, spoke about their role as an enabler, providing not just funding but also business support to farmers.
“We assist farmers pre- and post-investment, making sure they are enabled to succeed by putting together business plans and assessing what’s happening. We don’t just provide funding, and we leave them to farm just to do it on their own, but we make sure we enable them to make it a success,” Selepe said.
Financial empowerment
Senior manager for agribusiness insights at Standard Bank Keneilwe Nailana-Mabona stressed the importance of collaboration and creating spaces for women to connect and share their experiences in the agricultural sector.
“Agriculture is known as a male-dominated business, and for men, it’s easy to talk business during social activities like a braai or a round of golf. Hence, we try to collaborate and create platforms where women can come together, discuss their challenges, share their successes, and learn from each other.
“We need to be confident in entering this value chain and talking about money. We realised that it’s not like women don’t have the means to access funding; they just don’t know what is required. Let’s talk about our kids, but let’s talk business too,” Nialana-Mabona said.
Ayanda Mbonani-Vana, chief operating officer at Khula!, discussed the role of technology in driving innovation in agriculture and breaking down barriers for women.
She highlighted how platform businesses, such as Khula!, are enabling women to access the same markets as their male counterparts.
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“Platform businesses are built around access, connecting people. They allow women to step into the same marketplace as commercial farmers, ensuring they have the space and quality needed to compete,” she said.
Barriers for women in farming
Vuyiswa Ramokgopa, Gauteng MEC for agriculture and rural development, spoke passionately about the need to empower female farmers to move higher up in the value chain and stressed the importance of training not just in agricultural skills but in business and financial management.
Ramokgopa said she is particularly encouraged by the growing presence of women in the agricultural sector. She pointed out that women make up around 60% of the labour force in agriculture, particularly in subsistence farming.
However, a key challenge remains converting women’s labour into commercial value and ensuring they are adequately compensated at every level of the value chain.
She also highlighted the challenges around land ownership, a critical barrier for many women. “Many of our programmes require access to land, or that you own the land, and that becomes a physical barrier to entry for women who want to participate.
“The women partners I have engaged with in the last month have given me so much energy and optimism about what’s possible when we empower women. We need to think critically about how we, in leadership, make land ownership, farm ownership, and agriculture more accessible for women in our country,” she said.
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