The South African Flower Growers' Association (SAFGA) held a growers' day visiting Kleinskuur Aquaponics and Harmonie Protea farm, South Africa on the 21th of May 2024. This networking event was held to promote the interactions with stakeholders in the floral industry.
The official start of the day was at the Kleinskuur Aquaponics facility in Donkerhoek, east of Pretoria. A group of 45 flower growers and their staff attended the farm where Colin and Annemarie Bremner welcomed the visitors. Annemarie gave a short historical overview of the farm and the development of the Kleinskuur Aquaponics system. Colin then guided a tour through the farm, explaining the benefits of farming with nature. The system imitates a natural river system using fish to provide the nutrients to the plants, while the plants act as a filter cleaning the water going back to the fish. The visitors were treated to refreshments before they left.
Next up was a visit to a Protea Groves Protea Farm, a grower and distributor of protea and fynbos plants in Gauteng. Mr. Wayne Dearlove (Shareholder of protea Groves) started the tour by showing the group all their 28 different protea varieties and the18 Leucadendron varieties that they grow on their farm.
The group got the opportunity to ask questions to Wayne about the cultivation and growing of these plants in a region other than the Cape.
Wayne took the group to the greenhouse where they cultivate their cutting and to the packing store where the flowers arrive after they are cut, and what happens to the flowers after they are cut.
Later, Sue de Swart from Syngenta gave a short talk on some of the products that Syngenta supplies to the flower grower industry in South Africa. New products were introduced, and afterwards some informal SAFGA membership discussions followed. SAFGA management encourages members to invite fellow growers and open their projects and farms so that they can learn from each other. Namely, at SAFGA they believe that sharing is caring.
The event ended with a lunch at Harmonie Protea wedding venue.
For more information:
SAFGA
southafrica.co.za