Across Africa, the story of agriculture is too often told only through large-scale commercial farms. But at Sasekani Magaza Multipurpose Primary Cooperative Limited, we believe that the future of food, energy, and dignity lies with the smallholder, the backyard grower, the informal trader, and the local co-op. Our mission goes beyond traditional farming—it’s about empowering communities from the soil to the store, transforming everyday people into the custodians of Africa’s food and energy future.
“When you empower a farmer, you feed a family. When you empower a community, you nourish a continent.”
👩🏾🌾 From Backyard Growers to Income Generators
In many rural areas, women grow food quietly in backyards, homesteads, and small communal gardens—often overlooked, unsupported, and unpaid. At Sasekani Magaza, we see these women not as hobbyists, but as producers. Through our aggregation programme, we bring these backyard farmers together into coordinated clusters that:
- Collect and grade fresh produce
- Share knowledge and inputs
- Access local and regional markets
- Participate in income-sharing opportunities through collective selling and processing
With the help of digital tools and local coordinators, rural women now have access to real-time pricing, traceability systems, and opportunities to earn from every seed they plant. We are closing the gap between subsistence and commercial farming—one backyard at a time.
🌱 Empowering Youth Through Agribusiness
Youth unemployment in rural areas continues to rise, often resulting in grant dependency and hopelessness. Sasekani Magaza challenges this by positioning agriculture as a 21st-century business opportunity. We equip young people with:
- Training in agripreneurship and green technologies
- Access to starter packs for poultry, cassava, and vegetable production
- Digital platforms for marketing, farm management, and e-commerce
- Mentorship programmes and pathways into our Food Forts For Africa (FOFA) ecosystem
Youth are now becoming land stewards, innovators, and business owners, not just labourers or dependents. They are taking stock of their own livelihoods and building legacies in their own communities.
🛒 Building Local Food Economies: FOFA in Action
Through our bold initiative, Food Forts For Africa (FOFA), Sasekani Magaza is developing a continent-wide food ecosystem. FOFA creates a seamless value chain—from seedling to retail—focused on:
- Local food production
- Clean energy integration
- Affordable and nutritious meals for every African, every day
- Cross-border collaboration under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA)
We partner with smallholders, informal traders, local entrepreneurs, and retailers to strengthen local economies and ensure food sovereignty. FOFA encourages countries to trade food with food, not just commodities for currency—ensuring that Africa feeds itself, with dignity.
🤖 The Role of Technology: Farming with Intelligence
We’re bringing smart farming into the hands of the people. Through AI and the Internet of Things (IoT), we:
- Track produce from seedling to consumption
- Monitor crop health, weather patterns, and soil conditions
- Digitize transactions for transparency and traceability
- Integrate zero waste disposal models for sustainability
This creates a data-powered farming culture where everyone—young or old, beginner or expert—has a place and a purpose. Technology isn’t replacing people; it’s empowering them.
🌍 Wrapping Up with Key Insights
At Sasekani Magaza, we don’t just support farmers—we build ecosystems. We are connecting backyard growers, smallholder farmers, youth, and informal traders into a vibrant, green economy that produces food, generates income, powers clean energy, and respects the environment.
Our work is not just local—it is continental. Through FOFA, and the use of technology and inclusive models, we envision an Africa where:
- No child sleeps hungry
- Every adult earns with dignity
- Every meal is a product of local hands and local energy
This is how we support farmers: by supporting people, from the ground up.
#GrowWithSasekani
#FromBackyardToBusiness
#FOFA4Africa
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