Govt boost for wine farmers
Nombini Matomela
29 September 2004
The Western Cape government on Tuesday handed over a R571 000 cheque to the Bouwland Wine Trust in Stellenbosch to further transformation and black economic empowerment in the wine industry.
Bouwland Wine Trust is one of the top emerging winemakers in the province.
The trust has purchased about 56 hectares of land from their employer to be used for planting vineyards.
Speaking at the handover ceremony, MEC for Agriculture Cobus Dowry said it was important for government to assist these kinds of projects to help make them sustainable.
"We must come back all the time and see what their needs are and try to help them on the way until they reach a stage where they can make profit," he said.
Dowry thanked commercial farmers in the Stellenbosch area for their support and mentorship programmes offered to the emerging farmers.
Finance director for Bouwland Wine Trust, Cecil Jaap said the money would assist in purchasing
the necessary equipment required for its daily operations.
"We aim to settle all our debts within 10 years," he said.
The farm operates with about 12 permanent staff, half of whom are women.
The Bouwland Wine Trust was established by 60 farmworkers from 39 families last year to enable the workers to buy shares in the Bouwland Estate where they were employed.
In November last year, the trust received a R3.5-million loan from Absa bank as part of an investment of over R9.5-million, with the Khula Land Reform Credit Facility being the guarantor of the loan. The trust used the loan to buy 74 percent of the shares in Bouwland Estate.
Source: BuaNews
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