Soweto farmers to exhibit and sell products at the Joburg Food Expo

Over 300 local farmers will be exhibiting their products at the Joburg Food Expo in Dlamini, Soweto on Friday.

The Food Expo is an initiative of the City’s Food Resilience Unit to create a platform for emerging farmers to sell their products directly to clients.

Speaking to The Star, Donny Phakwago said it was important for farmers and key players in the agricultural sector to network.  Phakwago is a director in the Gauteng department of Social Development in the unit responsible for Food Security and Agriculture.

“Our intention with  this concept of food expo is to create a number of opportunities. We want to create an opportunity to exhibitors. We have got farmers who are producing food. We are involved in crop production, we produce vegetables, we produce grapes and some of the farmers are also involved in live stock. We want them to exchange ideas and know each other better,” Phakwago said.

He said the reason they chose Soweto was because “most of the farmers that will be exhibiting coming from Soweto”. 

However,  he said they would also be moving to other areas in the city in the future.

Lungelo Nkosi, one of the Soweto residents who has an interest in farming said he looked forward to attending the exhibition.

“It will be my first time attending an exhibition of this nature. I look forward to learning more about farming, particular live stock. I want to see chickens,” he said.

Various stakeholders in the agriculture sector will be showcasing farming equipment and giving career guidance in the sector.

Other activities that will be taking place include aerobics, cooking demonstrations and food tasting, health screening and a kididies corners.

@SthembisoMedia