“Hope is sometimes our only strategy.” This sobering remark by a farmer at Cape Agritech Connect 2025 was a pointed commentary on what it takes to keep a farm afloat in South Africa.
Held at the iconic Nooitgedacht Estate in the Cape Winelands and hosted by the Stellenbosch Network, and Stellenbosch University’s LaunchLab, Cape Agritech Connect 2025 was more than just a conference. The event was a mirror, a wake-up call, and an ambitious proposal for how the Western Cape can leapfrog towards a smarter, more sustainable, farmer-centric future.
The policy lens: Local government’s quiet but critical role
In a keynote that blended wit with sharp insight, Stellenbosch Municipality’s Deputy Mayor Maynard Slabbert reminded attendees that local government’s mandate is not to dictate agriculture’s direction, but to deliver services and help regulate environments that make innovation possible.
Using the metaphor of a “6” viewed as a “9” from opposing sides, Slabbert urged the sector to embrace multiple perspectives – academic, bureaucratic, and entrepreneurial. To avoid becoming entrenched in outdated thinking “we need to constantly be engaging not just within our own sector but across the industry as a whole,” he said. Speaking from a policymaker’s standpoint, he acknowledged the need for rules and regulations for a functioning society. But argued that a dynamic interplay between local government, academia and industry is required for progress to be made.
Further to the above, Slabbert referenced a recent discussion with Western Cape Premier Alan Winde, during which they discussed the need for policy reform and red tape reduction as a means to unlock growth and enable innovation in the province. In closing, Slabbert mentioned the cautionary parable of a shark and an elephant that are oblivious to each other’s existence – suggesting that more organisations should consider collaborations.
Redesigning the agri value chain
From AI-powered disease detection to HR digitisation, and growth support for emerging farmers; panellists shared practical solutions with potentially significant impact. Jason de Kock, Business Executive at WorkLight, spoke about one of agriculture’s greatest operational challenges – people. Despite rapid technological advancements, farming by nature is a labour intensive task. Without tracking tools to monitor skills and performance, or capture institutional knowledge, turnovers will increase, retraining costs will also increase, and workforces will be disrupted.
Building on the theme of operational optimisation, Arie van Ravenswaay from the Western Cape Department of Agriculture validated the compelling use of data in creating efficiencies and reducing operational costs, citing a research example where pesticide distribution methods were compared, revealing that handheld spray guns were not only more cost effective than tractor-mounted systems, but that they also delivered better results in some cases. The use-case demonstrates the impact of academia in creating operational efficiencies within the agri space.
The conversation took a strategic turn when Daniel Maritz, CEO of FutureFit Agri, addressed the exclusion of emerging farmers from agri value chains. Drawing from FutureFit Agri’s work across India and Africa, Maritz contrasted India’s 90% integration of smallholder farmers into structured value chains, compared to the 10% in Africa. This exclusion, he argued, is not due to a lack of ability or ambition – but access. A lack of infrastructure, education, and support systems continues to marginalise emerging farmers, particularly in rural and under-resourced communities.
“I think 2025 is an opportunity to reset. We have enough technology, enough people to collaborate with and know-how to transform our situation,” says Maritz.
One example of such transformation is Gugu Dlamini (Moloi)’s self-funded family venture, Bethel Farm, based in Kwa-Zulu Natal. Without government funding, Bethel Farm has developed a platform that has connected numerous farmers and has already created ten millionaires in the value chain so far. Their business model addresses market access for emerging farmers and debt for commercial farmers. Dlamini emphasised the need for technological partners to help scale their platform and bridge those critical gaps. “We need support to take this further,” she said, calling for collaboration to help rural and indigent farming communities reach their potential.
While innovation is accelerating, access remains unattainable for many emerging farmers who face steep barriers like infrastructure, finance and digitisation. The panel made one thing crystal clear – if the Western Cape is to lead Africa’s Agritech sector, it must do so by building an inclusive ecosystem where emerging farmers are not an exception but the engine of innovation.
Soil to software: The rise of data ecosystems
Discussions starting off strong, centering around access to data. Aizatron’s CEO, Ansu Sooful, highlighted Aizatron’s recent partnership with South Africa Wine, Stellenbosch University and Telkom for their sandbox platform which allows various entities in the ecosystem to exchange data across different systems, bringing it together into a single dataset which can then be utilised to create value for farmers. The significance of this partnership is that it demonstrates the impact of industry and academic collaboration in advancing the sector. Tying into the question of data accessibility, the Aizatron platform aims to make one portion of their dataset publicly available for free innovation. Another two categories will be commercialised for monetised access and the last category will store private data for specific users.
Terraclim, a Stellenbosch University spinout led by climate researcher Tara Southey, integrates terrain and climate data to aggregate data and inform better decision making in the context of climate change. Commenting on how to better serve the small scale farming community, Southey acknowledged that “there’s so much in the open source environment. It’s just about starting to build those new partnerships. It all still comes back down to human relationships and new partnerships, and that’s really what’s taking us to the next level.”
Collaboration and partnerships are important in building trust between farmers, industry and academia. Large scale datasets are key to ensuring data is accurate enough to make decisions, that is why trust is so central to forming a collaborative Agritech ecosystem.
However, trust is also one of the biggest hurdles for farmers who remain cautious about sharing data they see as proprietary. Sooful and Southey both highlighted the need for human-centred data partnerships, where the value returns to the farmer in the form of localised recommendations, market access, and early warnings for pest or disease threats.
Rethinking infrastructure, connectivity, and legal frontiers
Marius van der Merwe, Head of Engineering at FarmRanger, emphasised that rural tech can help farmers thrive if infrastructure catches up. Their GSM-based livestock collars are now being prototyped with satellite IoT that enables remote farms to monitor theft and animal welfare. However, when they started the venture 25 years ago, they simply strapped a sensor around an animal’s neck, collected the data and started trying to get patterns out of it. Modifying and deploying more sensors resulted in larger datasets and more valuable insights and, he pointed out, their success largely resided in their data – that is what set them apart and propelled them towards a successful business.
The conversation took a high-tech turn when panelists were asked about the future impact of quantum computing and artificial intelligence (AI) on agriculture. The response was layered: AI is already being deployed on the “edge” – such as with FarmRangers devices – to make real-time decisions. However, greater computational power at the server level is where the potential of quantum computing begins to unlock. “By the time you reach that level, the quantum computing will be autonomised,” Sooful explained. These systems will eventually consolidate massive datasets across farms and regions, generating hyper-localised recommendations on everything from irrigation to pest control and crop switching, personalised to each farm.
Yet with that promise comes a data dilemma. As Sooful also noted, “If you’re not a data-driven farm, you’re not going to be able to survive.” However, many farmers are hesitant to share data because that information is their entire business. The key, agreed by the panel, is trust. Farmers must be reassured that their data is being protected, and indeed, South African legislation such as the POPI Act (Protection of Personal Information) provides a legal foundation for data privacy. Trust, however, goes beyond compliance. “We need to show farmers that sharing their data helps build better AI models, and in return, they can get insights that improve how they run their farms – a value for value exchange,” Sooful noted.
Tara Southey of TerraClim built on this by calling for a stronger South African-centric approach to agricultural data. Responding to a question about traceability and export eligibility, specifically South Africa’s inability to export meat to the EU, she noted that “we need to keep market uniqueness and tell our story as South Africans, and traceability is important in the context of that.” Southey argued that South Africans are too quick to give away their commodities and therefore the underlying data. Protecting and leveraging local data, she said, is not just about privacy, it is about long-term competitiveness. Adversely, to keep our markets means creating more commodities.
Central to this future, AI and quantum computing technologies can analyse long-term climate and terrain shifts, determine where existing commodities may become unsustainable, and pinpoint new opportunities. As Southey noted, data can help identify where a terrain is no longer suitable for a particular cultivar, but also where a new opportunity may emerge. Machine learning and climate modelling can, as an example, help a farmer decide to switch from Sauvignon Blanc to Cabernet Sauvignon, or from citrus to pecans – this is not trial and error it is climate science and AI-informed forecasting.
The bottom line is that the South African agricultural story, and its commodity future, will increasingly be written in data – but only if that data is governed responsibly, protected locally, and used strategically to serve those who produce it.
Rethinking Inputs, Costs and Innovation: A View from the Field
Moderated by Brandon Paschal of Stellenbosch University LaunchLab, the panel on agri-financial sustainability opened with a sobering question: “How do we actually make money in farming today?”
Farmer Danie Carinus of Carinus Family Vineyards & Bluegum Grove Farming, discussed the true impact of rising costs – specifically, the dependence on imported agrochemicals and fertilisers, whose prices have surged dramatically since 2022. These costs, along with regulatory audits, energy usage and labour, can consume up to 65 – 70% of a farm’s gross income. “You can’t go green if you’re in the red,” Carinus quipped, highlighting the uneasy tension between sustainability and profitability in the agri sector.
Zooming out, Mpho Mence of GreenCape confirmed this reality with regional data: floods, climate shocks and supply chain disruptions cost the Western Cape agricultural sector R1.4 billion in 2023 – 2024 alone1. However, Mence highlighted the surge in climate-smart technology adoption such as drones for precision spraying, smart irrigation sensors, and a 329% increase in undercover crop production2 in just five years. These innovations are helping, but a greater adoption of technologies is required to reduce input costs and increase profit margins for farmers in a sustainable way.
Adding a technology transfer lens, Dr. Anita Burger of University of the Western Cape’s Institute for Microbial Biotechnology and Metagenomics (IMBM), urged policymakers and industry to support locally developed, microbe-based, agricultural solutions. Her lab’s research focuses on bio-inputs that boost soil health and plant growth and reduces post-harvest losses – all of which could drastically cut reliance on imports of agrochemicals and fertilisers for example. However, more support is needed – specifically funding for these innovations to progress beyond lab testing and into farm application. Paschal echoed this sentiment, calling for more resources and public-private alignment to help researchers and spinouts move from research to real-life impact.
The panel discussion made it clear that South African agriculture can no longer rely on traditional input models. Building local innovation pipelines, ensuring access to cost-reducing technologies, and supporting farmer-centric policies must be central to future-proofing the sector.
Why a Western Cape Agritech Cluster, and why now?
According to GreenCape’s 2025 Market Intelligence Report1, the Western Cape’s agricultural sector grew at an average annual rate of 2.5% and 2.7%, reaching R25.6 billion in 2023. The sector maintained its national share at 16% for agriculture and 21% for agri-processing. The Cape Winelands contributed the largest share of the province’s agricultural income at 33.4%. Followed by the West Coast (24.8%), City of Cape Town (18.1%), Garden Route (10.6%), Overberg (10.4%), and Central Karoo (2.8%).
With its world-class universities, five of which have comprehensive R&D capabilities, alongside established innovation hubs, many farms and export-oriented producers, the Western Cape is already a living lab for agricultural innovation. What’s missing is the structure.
The Agritech Cluster Initiative, led by the Stellenbosch Network and SU LaunchLab, aims to formalise this ecosystem between startups, researchers, farmers, government, and funders through targeted events, workshops, collaborations and forums.
Cape Agritech Connect 2025 proved that the Western Cape already has all the ingredients: relevant research, entrepreneurs and willing farmers. What it needs now is a deliberate framework to connect and scale these efforts.
The event was made possible through Capitec, Von Seidels, South Africa Wine, Finance Isle of Man and Innovus Technology Transfer Office at Stellenbosch University.
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About Stellenbosch Network
The Stellenbosch Network, a non-profit initiative of the Stellenbosch Innovation and Commercialisation Division, fosters collaboration among academics, students, businesses, non-profits, and municipal stakeholders. Closely aligned with SU LaunchLab, the network actively builds industry connections, facilitates innovation-driven discussions, and strengthens Stellenbosch’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Stellenbosch University (SU) LaunchLab
SU LaunchLab is part of the Innovation and Commercialisation Division at SU, working closely with the Innovus Technology Transfer Office to provide business incubation support to SU entrepreneurs. The SU LaunchLab offers various services, including student entrepreneurship programmes, new company creation, portfolio company support, and fund management. Through the development of bespoke initiatives such as entrepreneurial mindset workshops, faculty-specific bootcamps, hackathons, and incubation programmes, SU LaunchLab helps to nurture the next generation of entrepreneurs at SU. The department also provides administrative, governance, and strategic support to spin-out companies, ensuring their long-term success within the SU ecosystem.
Summary:
- Put Farmers First – All technology, funding, and data systems must be designed around the everyday farmer’s daily realities.
- Bridge the TRL Gap – Support researchers and entrepreneurs to take innovations from proof-of-concept to commercial scale.
- Build Patient Capital Mechanisms – Banks, not VCs, should finance long-term sustainability tools like solar, biogas, and smart irrigation.
- Secure Data Sovereignty – Keep climate, soil, and operational data within South Africa’s control while building global competitiveness.
- Create Interoperability – Ensure AI, IoT, and traceability platforms talk to each other and scale across value chains.
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