Creating decent work and a skilled labour force, and generating new knowledge, are at the heart of the heart of the Department of Science and Technology's Hi Hanyile Essential Oils and Medicinal Plants Project.
On 14 December, the Hi Hanyile Project received much-needed agricultural equipment valued at R1 million, promised by Minister Naledi Pandor during an imbizo in Giyani two months ago, to help expand the bioscience research initiative and grow the business.
The equipment handed over included a Massey Ferguson tractor, a six-ton four-wheel trailer, a 1.5m Slasher, a three-row furrow maker, a Massey Ferguson three-disc plough and a 1.5m Kverneland Rotavator. This will be used to expand the project, creating more jobs in the area.
The Hi Hanyile Essential Oils project is funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST). Scientists and traditional healers are collaborating in studies on indigenous plants which have led to the development of mosquito-repellent candles. The candles are much more effective than similar commercial products on the market.
The project was initially established as a Rose Geranium essential oil pilot project in 2000, and in 2004 another crop was introduced‑ Lippia javanica‑ an indigenous plant that is traditionally used to repel mosquitoes. Collaborative research between the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and traditional healers led to the extraction of the active chemical component of the plant.
The Department's Deputy Director-General for Technology Innovation, Mr Mmboneni Muofhe, said the project was one of the Department's interventions aimed at contributing to decent employment, a skilled and capable workforce, and vibrant rural communities, as part of government's efforts to address unemployment, inequity and poverty.
"Government is revitalising agriculture by developing, promoting and creating market access for small and medium enterprises and cooperatives in the agricultural sector. Critical in this area is encouraging upstream agroprocessing activities by rural producers, like the mosquito-repellent products made by Hi Hanyile. This initiative has the potential to create work opportunities for young people, many of whom currently have no share in the benefits of economic growth and development."
To support the project-to-business transition, the DST engaged the Department of Trade and Industry-affiliated SA Essential Oils Business Incubator to assist Hi Hanyile through their incubation services, essential oil production know-how, quality assurance skills and services, and market linkages.
The DST also commissioned agricultural economists (Datacomb Consulting) to develop a business plan to enable the project to access other sources of funding, which includes a business model that capitalises on existing and future initiatives, and identifies potential sources of revenue, products, customers and partners, and an investment memorandum or prospectus.
Local chief, Hosi Ngove, said the Hi Hanyile Project was creating jobs and skills, especially for the local youth, who were being given an opportunity to develop themselves. As an example, he mentioned 28-year-old Thembani Sithole, who has been working on the project as a boilermaker for two years, never having had formal employment before.
"This is also an opportunity to partner with the local Giyani Science Centre, where a laboratory can be established to do more on the Hi Hanyile Project," said the Chief, announcing an additional 100 ha of the land for further development.
Site manager Petra Terblanche welcomed the new equipment, saying the project could now do real farming. Before, they had had to hire equipment to plough the land at a cost if R6 000 for three days.
"With the new equipment we will be able to farm more and produce more, which will translate into more resources for the project," she said. "This is a dream come true."
For more information, contact:
Veronica Mohapeloa
Cell: 082 882 3818
