PPC committed to supporting emerging farmers in Dwaalboom

DWAALBOOM – Cement company, Pretoria Portland Cement (PPC), today signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to grow and support the Agricultural Feedlot Project at the Frankfort Farm in Dwaalboom. The MOA was signed with the Thabazimbi Local Municipality and the Bakgatla-Ba-Kgafela Tribal Authority in Limpopo.
The project will directly benefit 46 local cattle farmers. As part of its longstanding social commitment to uplifting the communities in which it operates, PPC will invest R1 million over a five year period, totalling R5 million, to go towards the implementation of the project. The local municipality will assist the beneficiaries with market accessibility of their products through their Small Medium & Micro Enterprises (SMME’s), while the Bakgatla-Ba-Kgafela Tribal Authority will avail land for the project.
“PPC is extremely excited to be involved with this initiative,” says Hardie de Beer, General Manager, PPC Dwaalboom. “We are in the very fortunate position where we can make a real difference to the lives of all our communities. With a project like this, we can continue to make a positive impact.
This sentiment is echoed by Lorraine Masipa, Director of Corporate Affairs for Bakgatla-Ba-Kgafela, who sees the partnership with the community as integral and strategic to their growth as a player in the economic environment.
“The relationship with PPC will help boost the development of the local economy and create an opportunity to build a competitive farming enterprise. There are so many secondary industries that will benefit from this project from supplying A-grade meat, to tannery and leather products. Ultimately we see great beneficiation opportunities for the wider community.”
PPC has a proud history of supporting the communities in which it operates throughout South Africa. This is best illustrated by the recently obtained Level 4 BBBEE Rating, which is the highest BBBEE status to be awarded in the cement industry to date. This rating represents a significant milestone in the PPC transformation journey.
”We see tremendous potential with the Agricultural Feedlot Project and we look forward to supporting it. Most of PPC factories are situated in the rural areas of South Africa and PPC has always maintained that real transformation commences at grassroots levels where the need resides for the creation of sustainable empowerment through socio-economic upliftment projects,” added de Beer.