AGRICULTURE NEWS - A quiet revolution in normally dead urban spaces has seen seven farms flourish on the rooftops of Johannesburg inner-city buildings since October last year, with four others about to take off.
The project is called the Urban Agriculture Initiative.
Between 50 and 60 farms are planned for the next three years, with a spillover effect of about 100 related enterprises, such as agri-processors and technology suppliers, according to Dr Michael Magondo, director of business incubator Wouldn’t It Be Cool (WIBC), which trains the farmers.
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Magondo is also a director of the Johannesburg Inner City Partnership, a coalition of various parties involved in rejuvenating the CBD.
The partnership is working with the City of Joburg, the Department of Small Business Development, the Small Enterprise Development Agency and SAB KickStart to raise funds for the Urban Agriculture Initiative.
“We expect no fewer than 500 permanent jobs to be created in this process,“ he says.
