The Potatoes SA recognition award
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Potatoes SA has introduced a new roving trophy aimed at sharpening the industry’s focus on transformation. The trophy was unveiled at the Western Cape Department of Agriculture’s Extension Summit, held in Knysna from 15 to 17 July 2026. The award was designed to recognise extension practitioners who go beyond the call of duty in identifying, promoting, and nurturing potato production initiatives that support the development of black producers in the province.
The summit, which brought together district directors, extension managers, and technical specialists from across the Western Cape, provided the ideal platform to launch an initiative that Potatoes SA hopes will reshape how transformation is pursued at the grassroots level.
The rationale behind the trophy is straightforward: Transformation moves faster when the people closest to producers on the ground are actively incentivised to champion it. The initiative forms part of a broader strategy to motivate extension practitioners to headhunt, activate, and promote potato production opportunities specifically targeted at developing black producers.
Rather than treating transformation as a compliance exercise, Potatoes SA wants extension teams to see it as a measurable, competitive, and rewarding part of their day-to-day work.
Momentum in the Western Cape
The Western Cape is one of several provinces where the integration of developing producers into commercial potato production has been slow to gain traction, despite years of support programmes and policy commitments. Potatoes SA believes that its existing commodity-oriented memorandum of understanding with the province can be considerably optimised by anchoring it to a strategy with clear deliverables, defined timelines, and measurable milestones, rather than to broad, open-ended commitments.
Within this strategy, key potato production regions such as the Sandveld, Swartland, and parts of the Garden Route have been identified as priority areas from which future transformation initiatives should emanate, given their established production records under commercial operations with proven climatic suitability.
Evidence that the approach is already gaining ground can be found in the Cape Winelands district, where Potatoes SA currently has two active developing-producer projects underway. Both have benefited from co-funding through the Potatoes SA Enterprise Development Programme and the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme – a combination designed specifically to stimulate the commercialisation of black-owned potato enterprises and reduce the risk associated with entering commercial production.
It was fitting, then, that the Cape Winelands was named the first-ever recipient of the trophy at the summit’s gala dinner. In announcing the winner, I commended the district for activating the highest number of potato development projects in the province over the review period. The district director, manager and technical team accepted the award.
The head of the Western Cape Department of Agriculture, Mogale Sebopetsa, was among the dignitaries present in support of the initiative, lending senior departmental backing to what Potatoes SA hopes will become a fixture of future extension summits.
More than a trophy
The recognition extends well beyond a ceremonial handover. Members of the winning district will have the opportunity to attend Potatoes SA conferences, gaining valuable industry exposure and networking access they might not otherwise receive. They will also benefit from industry-related training programmes and the chance to build both soft and technical skills by working directly with Potatoes SA technical staff.
In effect, the trophy translates strong on-the-ground performance into direct professional development for the practitioners driving it.
The task ahead is big, and transformation should not be reduced to a set of statistics. It is not a numbers game, but rather a journey of impact that takes time and requires partnerships. Potatoes SA hopes to encourage healthy competition among extension teams across the province and, in doing so, accelerate the commercialisation of developing potato producers in the Western Cape. – Rendani Murovhi, transformation manager, Potatoes SA