South African-grown Nature & More organic table grapes will be firmly in the spotlight at Fruit Logistica in Berlin, Dutch group Eosta has confirmed.
Eosta will be presenting the Ben Hannah and Thompson white seedless grapes grown by South African farmer Warren Bam, who specialises in maximising yields and producing large volumes of organic produce when compared with non-organic growers.
He is one of three South African growers that Nature & More will be promoting from 5-7 February in Berlin, all of whom are said to benefit from a love and knowledge of the soil that they used.
'The reason why our organic grape growers are so successful is because of their knowledge of the soil,' said Pieter de Keijzer, product manager at Eosta. 'Take Warren for example, he is just an excellent farmer with a great deal of knowledge about compost production, irrigation, pruning, and is always on top of things.'
Indeed, last year Bam landed two prestigious agricultural prizes, the New Harvest Farmer of the Year Award and the Newcomer of the Year Award.
'My only wish was to become a farmer, and now over the years I have learned that we must be grateful for what the soil is giving us,' he explained. 'If we continue to take care of the soil, it will take care of us, as it has done for generations.'
The two other South African Nature & More grape growers on show at Fruit Logistica will be Gog van der Colff and Eddie Redelinghuys, and in a tribute to the late Nelson Mandela the three growers are being brought together under a special 'Mandela's Soilmates' website as well as point-of-sale materials.
No comments yet