Gerrit and All van der Merwe, owners of the well-known ALG Citrus Estate near Citrusdal in the Cape region, have been named South Africa's Farmers of the Year.
The Farmer of the Year is a prestigious award conveyed annually by the Agricultural Writers of South Africa for best performance in the country's agricultural sector. In winning, the Van der Merwe brothers beat off stiff competition from across the country.
Agricultural Writers' spokesperson Hugo Lochner says the Van der Merwes became South Africa's Farmers of the Year because of farming and scientific agricultural merit, and achievements with good planning and dedication across many conditions and environments.
Gerrit and All van der Merwe have been leading growers in the Citrusdal region for many years, and have played a crucial role in the industry efforts to gain and expand exports to the US.
Gerrit is the current chairman of the WCCPF, which has around 300 members exporting their fruit to the US.
'We appreciate this honour and are very proud of all our workers,' said Gerrit van der Merwe. 'While our fruit is exported all over the world, most of it is sent to the US for summer citrus consumption. It is a privilege to fulfil market needs in the US with fresh and delicious fruit and to be recognised as a fine producer of citrus.'
Amongst the company's retail clients in the US are Wal-Mart, Costco, Wegmans and Whole Foods.
ALG Estates has been in the hands of the Van der Merwe family since 1750. It is made up of five farms, which produce 26 varieties of citrus, where pioneering practices in orchard pruning has resulted in increased production, less use of water, and a reduction in the reliance on pesticides. ALG Estates operates its own packhouse and employs 120 permanent staff and up to 500 seasonal workers.
From 1975 to 2010, production has grown from 1,940 tonnes to 15,800 tonnes, an annual growth of more than 20 per cent. In addition, innovations have extended the citrus producing season from five months to 10 months. Gerrit and All van der Merwe have also recognised the value of fair labour and fair trade practices, and ALG Estates is an accredited member of the Fairtrade organisation.
The two brothers have also done pioneering work in extending co-ownership to some of their workers who have been with the company for considerable time. One farm, Cedar Citrus, is jointly owned by them and 32 workers and has been exporting its products for some time.
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