Page 31 - SA Fruit Journal VOLUME 14

Bosveld Citrus - National farmer of the year for 2014The Agricultural Writers of South Africa presented bosveld Citrus with their prestigious award for National Farmer of the year in 2014.The identification and nomination of the candidates are undertaken with the fol- lowing criteria in mind:• History of the candidate• How their land is used – biological productivity• Risk and management of risks• Maintenance and management of natural resources• Economical sustainability• Social Responsibility• Involvement in industry and organised agriculture.The Writers from the Agricultural Society elect provincial winners and then a panel of former winners, writers and academics consider the nominations to elect a national winner.Bosveld Citrus is owned by the Milaan Thalwitzer Trust and is managed by Milaan and his three sons-in-law, Piet Smit, Cornel van der Merwe and Marius Neethling, who each take responsibility for certain aspects of the business.Milaan Thalwitzer was born in 1942 in Brakpan and matriculated in 1960 at Heil- bron High School in the Free State before obtaining his BSc (Agric) degree from the University of Pretoria in 1964. He has been involved in citrus farming since 1965 andCONTINUED FROM PAGE 26 the year.The programmes have been progressingwell. The information days held were very successful. We must thank the sponsors who contributed to these days.Research and development is very im- portant for the citrus industry and extension plays a crucial role in gathering and dissemi-was the main driving force in the development and expan- sion as well as the diversifi- cation of the Bosveld Sitrus Group of Companies.The Bosveld Group ofCompanies started off on100 ha of citrus in Letsitelein the 1960’s, and now en-compasses 3 730 ha of citrus,producing 5.5 million car-tons of export citrus – the biggest private cit- rus grower and exporter in South Africa. The group also produces bananas, sugar cane, litchis and mango on the various estates in Letsitele, Hoedspruit, Burgersfort, Politsi, Malelane and Komatipoort.The group of companies includes Gold- en Frontier Citrus, Mabete Sitrus, Karino Farms, Waterval Citrus and Richmond Ko- pano Farming. Richmond Kopano Farming is an operations company that has leased the farm Richmond since 2011. It is owned by the Moletele Communial Property As- sociation after a successful land claim pro- cess. Bosveld Sitrus currently holds all shares in the operating company but the Moletele community has the right to buy 49% of the shares. The lease expires in 2025 after which time the community will take over the opera-nating information especially with regard to minimising the impact and costs of unex- pected outbreaks of pests and diseases.Chamber Executive MeetingsThe chamber has agreed that its executive should deal with urgent matters and that these should not be held over to the cham-Cornel van der Merwe, Milaan Thalwitzer, Marius Neethling and Piet Smit.Ezekiel Nkosi (chairman of Moletele CPA) and Piet Smit (managing director of Bosveld Group Holdings).tions of the farm. The first profit share to the CPA took place recently and the cheque for nearly a million rand was handed over to the chairman of the Moletele CPA, Ezekiel Nkosi by Piet Smit.ber’s next meeting to ensure that necessary work can proceed. It is recorded that the executive has met on a number of occasions to address matters concerning the proposed development company and matters relating to grower development and support. These meetings have enabled progress to be made in the various areas.TRANSFORMASIE 28 FEB | MAART 2015