As global warming leads to rising temperatures and an increase in weather-related disasters, the world's poorest – often farmers, fishers and pastoralists – are hardest hit. Add to this that 50% of SA’s population doesn’t have enough food*, and that we’re a serious contributor to climate change (due to the burning of fossil fuels to generate electricity), and it’s clear that agriculture needs to adapt to our warming planet.
The EduPlant Programme – initiated and managed by Food & Trees for Africa – is just one of the ways Woolies is addressing the issue of food security and helping to break the cycle of rural poverty in SA. Supported by the Woolworths Trust, EduPlant is a permaculture food gardening programme that enables schools and communities countrywide to grow sustainable, healthy food gardens – while protecting natural ecosystems and biodiversity. “Hundreds of schools across South Africa are supplementing their feeding schemes with fresh, sustainably grown fruit and vegetables, thanks to EduPlant,” says Zinzi Mgolodela, Woolworths’ Head of Transformation. “We also source over 90% of our food products locally, so we play an active role in ensuring that food production and farming is viable and grows with our nation’s needs.” In addition, Woolworths’ Farming for the Future programme promotes farming methods that use less water, fewer synthetic fertilisers and pesticides, and enhance soil quality.
Watch and learn more about how EduPlant and the Woolworths Trust are helping to secure food supplies for generations to come.