Nedbank Commercial Banking and Partners in Agri Land Solutions (PALS) recently celebrated the financing of their 1st collaborative agricultural transformation transaction at an inspiring title deed handover event held on the farm near Piketberg.
The finance enabled a newly formed company named Pele ea Pele (Pty) Ltd to acquire 2 farms in Piketberg in the Western Cape. Pele ea Pele has 2 shareholders: 100% black-owned Tsepong (Pty) Ltd, which holds 51% of the shares, and Knapdaar Agri (Pty) Ltd, which owns the remaining 49%.
The farms are being developed into irrigation farms to produce bulb onions for the fresh market and under contract for Klein Karoo Seed Production, and potatoes for the fresh market and under contract for Simba, as well as rooibos tea.
While Nedbank provided the finance and the financial expertise to optimally structure and enable this valuable partnership to flourish, PALS was instrumental in formalising the legal structure, obtaining additional water licences and ensuring an equitable split through the well-established PALS land reform framework. The PALS structure in essence is simple – a commercially established farmer and a black farmer or farm group form a company with a fair and justified share split. They acquire an economically viable piece of land. The established farmer mentors the new-era farmer until they are fully empowered with the skills and experience they need to continue the successful trajectory of the company. This is a sphere in which PALS has unsurpassed experience, having enabled 48 successful transformation transactions in less than a decade.
At a recent event held on the acquired farms to commemorate the transaction and hand over the title deed, Lennox Plaatjies, PALS’s national liaison manager, said that the transaction is a significant milestone for PALS. ‘Pele ea Pele is another inspiring project in inclusive agricultural development driven by partnership and collaboration. This project is particularly special as Pele ea Pele’s new-era farmer and commercial farmer have worked with each other since 1993 and now, after 31 years, are finally business partners. This is the perfect example of how growing together can promote a more inclusive sector. Nedbank’s commitment to a more inclusive future by financing transactions like this is invaluable and we are extremely grateful to them for making this happen.’
The keynote speaker at the event, the Minister of Agriculture for the Western Cape, Dr Ivan Meyer, said that this partnership is the ideal model for transformation deals. ‘This is a project I am not going to keep quiet about. Next week I am in parliament, and I will tell them all about Pele ea Pele: that it is valuable, precious and useful. South Africa must learn from this successful model of land reform.
‘The slogan for PALS is growing together, and this new enterprise exemplifies growing together in partnership and collaboration. The Afrikaans word for agriculture is landbou, the literal meaning of which is to build the land; through this partnership a pact has been signed and an action plan put in place to literally build this land. By following this example, facilitated by PALS and Nedbank, we can create countless more partnerships and collaborations to transform and successfully build the land throughout South Africa,’ said Meyer.
Cobus de Bruyn, Head of Client Value Propositions for Agriculture at Nedbank Commercial Banking, said that the bank’s partnership with PALS provides the backbone for its commitment to facilitating transformation in the agricultural sector and shows that land reform is not possible without partnerships. ‘Our aim is to create an inclusive society by enabling more individuals and businesses to participate in the economy to foster much-needed growth for the development of society at large.’
Nedbank Commercial Banking and Partners in Agri Land Solutions (PALS) recently celebrated the financing of their 1st collaborative agricultural transformation transaction at an inspiring title deed handover event held on the farm near Piketberg.
The finance enabled a newly formed company named Pele ea Pele (Pty) Ltd to acquire 2 farms in Piketberg in the Western Cape. Pele ea Pele has 2 shareholders: 100% black-owned Tsepong (Pty) Ltd, which holds 51% of the shares, and Knapdaar Agri (Pty) Ltd, which owns the remaining 49%.
The farms are being developed into irrigation farms to produce bulb onions for the fresh market and under contract for Klein Karoo Seed Production, and potatoes for the fresh market and under contract for Simba, as well as rooibos tea.
While Nedbank provided the finance and the financial expertise to optimally structure and enable this valuable partnership to flourish, PALS was instrumental in formalising the legal structure, obtaining additional water licences and ensuring an equitable split through the well-established PALS land reform framework. The PALS structure in essence is simple – a commercially established farmer and a black farmer or farm group form a company with a fair and justified share split. They acquire an economically viable piece of land. The established farmer mentors the new-era farmer until they are fully empowered with the skills and experience they need to continue the successful trajectory of the company. This is a sphere in which PALS has unsurpassed experience, having enabled 48 successful transformation transactions in less than a decade.
At a recent event held on the acquired farms to commemorate the transaction and hand over the title deed, Lennox Plaatjies, PALS’s national liaison manager, said that the transaction is a significant milestone for PALS. ‘Pele ea Pele is another inspiring project in inclusive agricultural development driven by partnership and collaboration. This project is particularly special as Pele ea Pele’s new-era farmer and commercial farmer have worked with each other since 1993 and now, after 31 years, are finally business partners. This is the perfect example of how growing together can promote a more inclusive sector. Nedbank’s commitment to a more inclusive future by financing transactions like this is invaluable and we are extremely grateful to them for making this happen.’
The keynote speaker at the event, the Minister of Agriculture for the Western Cape, Dr Ivan Meyer, said that this partnership is the ideal model for transformation deals. ‘This is a project I am not going to keep quiet about. Next week I am in parliament, and I will tell them all about Pele ea Pele: that it is valuable, precious and useful. South Africa must learn from this successful model of land reform.
‘The slogan for PALS is growing together, and this new enterprise exemplifies growing together in partnership and collaboration. The Afrikaans word for agriculture is landbou, the literal meaning of which is to build the land; through this partnership a pact has been signed and an action plan put in place to literally build this land. By following this example, facilitated by PALS and Nedbank, we can create countless more partnerships and collaborations to transform and successfully build the land throughout South Africa,’ said Meyer.
Cobus de Bruyn, Head of Client Value Propositions for Agriculture at Nedbank Commercial Banking, said that the bank’s partnership with PALS provides the backbone for its commitment to facilitating transformation in the agricultural sector and shows that land reform is not possible without partnerships. ‘Our aim is to create an inclusive society by enabling more individuals and businesses to participate in the economy to foster much-needed growth for the development of society at large.’agr