Gauteng’s Far West Rand mining-linked area has always had excellent agricultural potential. In fact, the area had all the makings of a colossal market garden had early mining not dewatered the place so irresponsibly, which resulted in terrible dolomitic sinkholes in the Carletonville area.
It is now very good that a request for expressions of interest has been issued for a partner with established commercial farmers and agribusiness expertise to spearhead the agricultural projects on 30 000 ha of land provided by Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed mining company Sibanye-Stillwater. No more time must be wasted on getting Bokamoso Ba Rona (Our Future) going.
Far too much time has been lost already. The agri-hub has the potential to produce high-value crops for domestic consumption and export. Wonderfully, the area has access to an ample supply of water pumped from underground mining operations.