Forests and food: Communities plant groundnuts, veggies between the trees

By Maile Matsimela

The International Day of Forests on 21 March highlighted the vital role that both indigenous and planted forests play in sowing the seeds of change. 

This year’s theme focused on forests and food, emphasising their importance in food security, nutrition and livelihoods. 

Forestry South Africa (FSA) views this day as an opportunity to recognise the interconnection between the sector and the rural communities it supports.

Positioned in remote areas across Limpopo, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and Western Cape, the South African forestry sector is uplifting some of the country’s most impoverished communities. 

Norman Dlamini, Business Development Director at Forestry South Africa, said beyond providing employment and stimulating the rural economy, they actively invest in social initiatives that address socio-economic and environmental challenges, including food security. 

“By supporting small-scale farmers, promoting agroforestry and facilitating market access, the sector fosters self-sufficiency and long-term sustainability, contributing to food security and economic growth,” says Dlamini.

Over the last few decades, timber company Merensky Timber allocated extensive areas for more than 1 682 community beneficiaries to grow groundnuts among their planted trees. 

Dlamini said after four months of hard work in a year, each beneficiary harvested between 50kg and 80kg of nuts for personal consumption and to sell on informal markets. 

Dlamini added that Merensky is not alone as other companies, such as Sappi, SAFCOL, MTO and Mondi, have similar programmes that include business skills training for beneficiaries and helping them access formal markets, like the peanut butter industry.

Merensky’s Rooikoppies community beneficiary, Roy Finley, asserts that growing your own food is like printing your own money. Ntombiyenkosi Mbuyazi from the Shikishela community echoes this: “With the money from planting groundnuts, we pay our children’s school fees.”

Nomvuyo Mehlo, Cluster Liaison Manager at PG Bison from the Eastern Cape, explains that agroforestry is flourishing beyond the planted compartments, as “The 11 hectares of land provided by PG Bison for community vegetable farming has previously placed food on the table for various families who were disadvantaged.” 

PG Bison is currently in discussions with the youth in the community to establish new farming initiatives that will be a source of relief for more families.

Dlamini says across the country, corporate and medium-scale forestry enterprises have donated land, equipment, expertise, irrigation and seeds to create vegetable gardens, the produce of which supplies nutritious food to families, vulnerable individuals and schools. 

Isak Meshaka, headmaster at Storms River Senior Primary School, says they use the gardens to teach learners responsibility, and the veggies support their school feeding scheme, especially as many parents in the area are unemployed.

Dlamini further said while addressing immediate food security challenges is essential, the long-term solution lies in growing the rural economy, stimulating jobs and reducing unemployment and poverty. 

“The forestry sector empowers small, medium, and micro-enterprises (SMMEs) through targeted training, mentorship and financial support. Entrepreneurs like Lenius Malapane from the Mambiteni Bee Keeping Co-operative expressed gratitude to SAFCOL for developing the co-operative and granting them access to SAFCOL’s plantations. This support has enabled the group to provide for their families.

“It’s clear that the South African forestry sector transforms lives and communities through social impact initiatives. 

“Whether tackling food insecurity or bridging social divides, the forestry sector embraces the philosophy: ‘Give a man bread, and you feed him for a day. Teach him to farm, and you feed him for a lifetime.’ We take pride in our members’ dedication to driving meaningful, lasting change.”