Onseepkans is a remote rural settlement of approximately 2 500 residents located along the Orange River in South Africa’s Northern Cape. In recent years, the area has become the site of a community-owned agricultural enterprise that illustrates how land reform, commercial agriculture and structured development support can be aligned.
The Elmboog Organiese Boerdery is a 100% community-owned farming business established as a following result of the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform & Rural Development’s land redistribution programme. Collectively owned by 114 local landowners through a beneficiary trust, the enterprise operates as a commercial, export-oriented producer of organic raisins.
Among the eight organic raisins producers in the region, Elmboog Organiese Boerdery is the only one that is community-owned. Revenue increased from R7.9 million in 2022/2023 to R11.9 million 2023/2024, and R17.4 million for 2024/2025. Organic-certified produce is supplied to established processors, including RedSun Raisins, for export into regulated international markets, with end buyers including global food companies such as PepsiCo.
Situated in the Orange River region, which accounts for approximately 90% of South Africa’s annual raisin production, Elmboog Organiese Boerdery forms part of a globally competitive agricultural value chain.
From land transfer to commercial operation
Following the transfer of land to the community, Elmboog Organiese Boerdery focused on developing a viable agricultural business model centred on a high-value niche crop. The farm currently manages 94 hectares under irrigation.
In recent seasons, the operation has scaled production and market access:
- Production increased from 204 tonnes for 2022/2023 to 452 tonnes in 2023/2024, and 514 tonnes in 2024/2025.
- Ecocert Organic certification in 2022 enabled access to premium export markets.
South Africa is the world’s fifth-largest exporter of raisins. Industry forecasts indicate that national production is expected to exceed 100 000 tonnes by 2025/2026.
Ownership, funding and accountability
The partnership and funding structure reflects an intentional application of enterprise development funding to support long-term sustainability rather than short-term dependency.
Technical assistance, blended finance and time-bound socio-economic investment were structured to build governance capacity, commercial capability and operational independence. This approach positions the enterprise to transition from development support to standalone commercial viability while retaining full community ownership.
Elmboog Organiese Boerdery operates through a partnership model that defines clear roles and accountability among stakeholders:
- Elmboog Organiese Boerdery – a 100% community-owned company.
- Scatec Solutions Broad-Based Trust – deploys catalytic socio-economic funding and technical support to de-risk early-stage commercialisation, enabling enterprises to leverage additional capital and transition toward full market viability, with a defined, time-bound pathway to trust divestment as the business matures.
- Blue Sky Impact Investments – acts as a strategic and technical partner, ensuring bankability (access to finance), risk mitigation and operational development through enterprise development funding.
Local economic impact
The farm has become an economic anchor for the Onseepkans community:
- More than 360 people (permanent and seasonal) are employed across harvesting, planting, processing and logistics.
- A profit-sharing scheme allocates 10% of profits to farmworkers.
- Landowners receive a combined annual rental income in excess of R2.5 million.
- Skills development programmes support training in organic agriculture, leadership, governance and business management.
“Most of us grew up here. We never imagined our produce would reach international shelves,” says a beneficiary. “Now our children see a future here, not somewhere else.”
Beyond direct employment and income, the farm has created an enabling economic environment for broader community development in Onseepkans. As a rural community with historically limited entrepreneurial activity, steady circulation of approximately R12.7 million per year through the farm has helped unlock new opportunities and confidence for local enterprise.
With the farm acting as a stable anchor, complementary community initiatives have emerged downstream, aimed at retaining value locally and strengthening resilience. These include:
- Alien invasive species removal to protect and restore agricultural land while creating employment.
- Waste management and recycling to respond to increased economic activity and environmental pressures.
- A water initiative focused on access to clean, safe water for both workers and the wider community.
“While not originally designed to support farming operations directly, these initiatives increasingly reinforce the farm’s sustainability, productivity and operating environment, demonstrating a virtuous cycle in which the farm enables the community, and a stronger community, in turn, enables the farm,” notes a Blue Sky representative.
Looking ahead
The next phase of development focuses on expanding cultivated land, strengthening production capacity and exploring opportunities for local agri-processing to retain greater value within the region.
When land was allocated in 2005, each of the community property associations and their members received approximately 4 hectares a scale that was not economically viable as a standalone farming unit.
While the consolidated farm now spans approximately 92ha, this remains insufficient on its own to significantly alter the long-term economic outlook of the 114 landowners. Continued scaling and value chain development are therefore central to improving sustainability and income resilience.
The long-term objective is for Elmboog Organiese Boerdery to operate as a financially sustainable, independently governed enterprise following the planned divestment of early-stage development funding.
The planned divestment of early-stage development funding is therefore not an exit from impact, but a milestone in demonstrating that catalytic community trust funding can unlock commercially viable, community-owned enterprises capable of standing on their own.
