South Africa

The innovative concept of the system allows a unique dual use of the area. While the photovoltaic modules convert solar energy into electricity, the same area is used for agriculture, which is protected from extreme weather conditions by the system. This symbiosis creates numerous benefits for the local population.

The infrastructure of the project is already at an advanced stage. The Agri-PV tables have been erected, the semi-transparent SF PV modules are installed and the well for the water supply has been prepared. The structural work for the fully equipped training facilities has already been started. The water-saving irrigation system and the shading nets will be installed shortly after the local winter.

A core element of SUNfarming is the multiple use of land and resources. The agri-solar system not only provides a sustainable source of energy, but also protects the environment and supports local agriculture. Rainwater is used efficiently, which is particularly important in arid regions.

This pioneering project demonstrates how innovative technologies and sustainable practices can bring positive change to rural communities. SUNfarming and its partners are committed to a future where energy production and agriculture go hand in hand to meet the needs of people and the environment.

This Agri-PV training project, co-financed by DEG/KfW, will continue to be operated by the non-profit organization FEED LTD South Africa and FEED e.V. Germany after the end of the project period.

Nicolaas Faure van Schalkwyk, Lead Trainer and Energy Research Engineer, presents the highlights of the activities in March and April in his monthly report.

Key highlights activities for March 2024:
1. Bloemfontein PV Green Card training (4-8 March 2024).
2. Co-hosted Regional Distributed Generation Training with SEA Team (6-8 March 2024).
3. Compiled, submitted and been awarded the Regional Distributed Generation Training project for the next two years.
4. Presented at Jhb Solar & Storage Future show.
5. Finalised SEA training report.
6. Hosted online webinar with SEGEN solar on key changes of the NRS 097-2-1 (almost 100 people attended).
7. Initiated Mediclinic Site visit (Almost 20 sites to be visited and reported on by end of April).
8. Assisted with AC and MV design and procurement for Harpington farm. (Ongoing)
9. Attended workshop on national solar PV standard. (Ongoing)
10. Multiple workshops to resolve sign off requirements for solar PV in South Africa. (Ongoing)

Key activities for April 2024:
1. Conclude all solar PV inspections for Mediclinic and compile and review reports by end of April.
1. Been awarded 4 x Solar PV inspections at Limpopo Schools, to be concluded within a week.
2. Preparation and hosting of Municipal SEA Training in Pretoria.
3. SEA Bi-annual Progress Report
4. Preparation for Regional DG
5. Finalising and applying for SAPVIA PV Green Card training & Accreditation in Bloemfontein (Need to do the same for Potch, Jhb and George)

The ministry of education and the King and Queen of the royal family of the Netherlands engaged our team and other stakeholders, in a workshop which discussed the just energy transition to green energy and it challenges in South Africa.

Nicolaas Faure van Schalkwyk, Manager of the Solar Training Centre, highlighted the importance of how practical up to date industry experience, needs to form part of the training curriculum and experience. "Education institutions are too slow and not dynamic enough to adapt their qualifications to the fast-changing environment in the renewable energy sector. Training providers in collaboration with international industry experience from SUNFarming and technology service providers like Brainstud, can reach more people and assist with making people more employable with micro courses, skills programmes and part qualifications. South Africa has elevated levels of unemployment, but there is also a need for experienced solar PV installers. Something which we in partnership with Johan Schaap from
Brainstud try to achieve"

SABC News, video report on the project: Food Security, over 40 schools benefit from the SUNfarming Vitality Booster Project

Labour is needed for production in the food industry. Accredited Agri-SETA trainers in organic vegetable production, provided by SUNfarming South Africa, take over the training of these workers. In this way, additional new jobs are created locally. Our trainees are much better equipped to find work in agriculture after completing our trainings.
300 unemployed people are trained in the training programme. For the top 60, the project offers further training on the farm property provided by SUNfarming in Potchefstroom. As licensed SUNfarming franchisers, a large number of them will help to supply supermarkets with organic vegetables and herbs.

As an emergency aid, Vitality Porridge is distributed to school children as a daily vitamin- and nutrient-rich supplement to their school lunch during the project period. In addition, the children receive a 5 kg bag to take home to their families. As there are often not enough plates in the schools, Vitality Porridge can also be distributed and drunk more diluted as a milkshake. The children love it all the more this way, because it tastes like a vanilla shake, they say.
The course participants can also take home a 5kg bag of Vitality Porridge. The school programmes supported by KfW/DEG aim to tackle malnutrition, one of the biggest development problems in African countries, at its root. Children are empowered directly at school and teachers are trained to pass on the knowledge they have gained about the essential importance of healthy food to the children. Through training and education directly in the production facilities and in cooperation with the church communities, jobs and sustainable future prospects are also created for the people in Africa.

"We would like to expressly thank all project partners without whose support we would not have been able to realise the emergency food aid and training programmes in the Vitality Porridge Project," Peter Schrum continues.

SUNfarming Vitality Porridge Project in South Africa is a PPP project and is funded by KfW/DEG. The project is supported in its organisation by develoPPP, Skills for All, german cooperation, F.E.E.D. (Food-Energy-Education-Development e.V.).

You can find all information at www.feed-ev.de or contact our Edith Brasche, Vice-President FEED e.V..

In the second year after the foundation of the non-profit organisation FEED in Hamburg as well as its sister NGO FEED South Africa NPC in South Africa, the organisation has expanded and developed its sustainable projects: The fight against malnutrition of children in schools and kindergartens is still very much in the foreground. To this end, the SUNfarming Food & Energy facility in Potchefstroom in the North-West Province of South Africa trains children in the cultivation of fruit, vegetables and also medicinal herbs, which in turn are mixed into a Vitality Porridge to offer the children a balanced diet rich in vitamins and minerals that supports healthy development and provides energy for active participation in school lessons.

In 2022 alone, FEED has been able to provide balanced nutrition to 15,327 children at 38 schools and nurseries and 83,000 family members within a 200km radius of Potchefstroom through funds raised by private donors and integrated into the DEG project led by SUNfarming. .

After two years, the school headmasters confirm a significantly increased presence of the children in class as well as more active cooperation of the children and thus better school results. Together with the partners, FEED has thus been able to create the basis for many children to receive a good basic education at school and a strong foundation for their further educational and hopefully professional path.
Furthermore, within the framework of new training measures in sustainable agriculture for socially weak people and inhabitants of the townships around Potchefstroom, 30 women in particular were newly trained and accompanied by FEED. These women live in remote regions, mostly without a job or other income, with their families and often several children. The gardening training introduces them to the cultivation of food for their own consumption, with the aim of gradually training them to become farmers who can earn money together as cooperatives by selling their products.

FEED President Peter Schrum and Vice President Edith Brasche visited FEED projects in the Potchefstroom region in November and met other new partners to expand sustainable development aid in the Potchefstroom region and beyond.For more information, visit FEED.