Sunland Farm

Sunland Farm is situated in Addo area. Bono manages this farm together with Sunland Farms Empowerment Trust which has 28 beneficiaries. Sunland Farm stretches 400 hectares of which 295 hectares are planted with oranges, lemons and soft citrus. It provides 160 jobs, yields 165 000 trees and exports over 400 000 cartons. Bono provides production capital, development capital, farming implements, marketing and skills transfer.

Green Gables Farm

Green Gable, Buckkraal & Nebraska farms, are situated in Addo Area. The farms are leased to Green Gables, Buckkraal & Nebraska farm workers by the DRDLR, consist of 10 beneficiaries which are all permanently employed in the farms. The farms have 31 hectares under citrus and 20 hectares available for development. Varieties include lemon, valencia and navels.

It provides 50 jobs, yields 9 500 trees and exports over 40 000 cartons. Bono provides production capital, development capital, farming implements, marketing and skills transfer.

Mont Piquet Farm

Mont Piquet farm is situated in Piketberg and covers 977 hectares. 88 hectares are under black, red and white seedless table grapes, 20 hectares are under citrus including lemon, Valencia and navels and 300 hectares are available to be developed. The farm yields 273 000 cartons of fruit and employs more than 520 workers. It is leased, by the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform, to the Fundani Farming Co-operative Ltd with 34 beneficiaries, all of whom are permanently employed by the farm.

BONO provides production capital, farming implements, development capital, marketing, skills transfer and healthcare to the farm workers and has implemented Fairtrade on the farm.

Rietkloof Farm

This farm shares a fence with Mont Piquet. It covers 300 hectares – 102 are under black, red and white seedless table grapes, 38 hectares are under citrus including lemon, Valencia and navels and 27 hectares are available to be developed. The farm currently yields over 333 000 cartons. The farm is leased to the Masilakhe Farming Co-operative Ltd, with 52 permanent workers, by the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform. In total, the farm employs more than 550 workers.

BONO provides production capital, farming implements, development capital, marketing, skills transfer and healthcare to the farm workers and has implemented Fairtrade on the farm.

BONO Holdings has committed itself to social responsibility, including the building of a health centre in the Sunland community. In partnership with professional medical service supplier, CareCross, BONO Holdings provides workers with medical aid, medical advice and HIV and AIDS testing and counselling.

Sunland Farms

Beneficiaries at the Sunland Farms did not have access to a nearby clinic. The nearest state clinics are about 60 kilometers away and many patients are unable to continue the visits due to weakness or lack of transport. There is only one state vehicle that operates in the Sunland area, which goes to them during week days only. It leaves very early in the morning and drops the residents off at points near their homes late in the evening.  This was very inconvenient for them because they would have to stay at the clinic the whole day, just to get treatment and miss a whole day’s work. Most of the beneficiaries didn’t know their HIV & AIDS, STI or TB status. Knowing this is a huge advantage as it alerts them to take better care of themselves and live a healthier life.

Current situation

The medical centre was built in Addo which is under the operation of a qualified medical Doctor, who has been practicing in the Sundays River Valley for over five years, in both the private and public health sector. The medical centre is not limited to the Sunland Farms workers only; anyone in the community can utilise it whenever they need to. All Sunland Farm workers have medical cards that they provide whenever they go to the medical centre. These cards allow them free consultation, unlimited visits and medication from the medical centre.

1.The Sunland workers have been provided with an OcsaCare Gold medical card that covers:

• Basic Dentistry (filling, cleaning and extractions)
• Basic optometry (eye test, basic frames and lenses or contact lenses every 24 months)
• Chronic medicines according to the Care Cross list of medicines

2.The OCSA Gold option employee benefits are:

• Day to day visits to any Care Cross GP
• Acute Medication
• Radiology
• Chronic medication
• Dentistry
• Optometry
• Small Procedures

HIV & AIDS TESTING

BONO Holdings has organized that all the Sunland Farms workers and the people in the community get tested for HIV & AIDS, STI and TB. 660 people attended an ACT (Action, Testing and counselling) programme.

The session provided participants with education on HIV & AIDS, what it is, how it can spread and how they can protect themselves from it. They also attended one-on-one counselling sessions where they asked personal questions and prepared for testing. The testing was voluntary and confidential. Post-test counselling was provided for participants to receive support. All the people who are infected either by HIV & AIDS, STI or TB are currently receiving treatment for their conditions. They get their medication & treatment free of charge from the medical centre.

Finance

All the medical centre visits and medication are free for the Sunland Farm workers as the costs are covered by Bono. Bono pays a fee every month, which takes care of all of the beneficiaries’ health and medication.

Conclusion

BONO Holdings is doing its best to bring and maintain good health for the farm workers by providing them with health facilities, relevant medication and treatment.

Fairtrade is a strategy that aims to promote sustainable development and to reduce poverty through fairer trade. The purpose is to create opportunities for producers and workers who have been economically disadvantaged or marginalized by the conventional trading system. Fair access to markets under better trade conditions would help them to overcome barriers to development and will equip them with skills to develop plans and projects. Fairtrade actively tackles underdevelopment in agriculture by enabling small scale farmers to improve their skillset.