The eThekwini Municipality plans to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Fuze Business Initiative to promote improved agricultural development at the Cottonlands and Ottawa Agri-Park incubators, located north of Durban.
The eThekwini Municipality plans to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Fuze Business Initiative to promote improved agricultural development at the Cottonlands and Ottawa Agri-Park incubators, located north of Durban.
The municipality intends to sign a three-year MoU with Fuze to support the development of micro-enterprises and improve infrastructure. A report presented to the municipality's Economic Development and Planning Committee (EDPC) noted that the municipal Agricultural Division is strategically prepared to implement agribusiness development programs, attract investment, and provide services in research, policy, and innovation.
The municipality emphasized that such partnerships with the Fuze Business Initiative allow the division to conduct initiatives aimed at creating commercially scalable agricultural infrastructure, providing rental spaces to lower entry barriers, improving access to sustainable markets, and stimulating job creation and wealth generation.
Fuze is a non-profit organization focused on research, skills development, and empowerment programs. These programs aim to upskill unemployed women and youth by providing them with the necessary knowledge, skills, and resources to re-enter the labor market and establish sustainable businesses.
Agricultural services provided by Fuze include farmer support and development, training and development of agricultural skills, cooperative development and training, food system development, food and essential oil processing, market analysis and networking, as well as food supply to markets.
The municipality reported that in 2022, Fuze donated production equipment for the development of the Cottonlands Agri-Park Incubator. This site focuses on intensive vegetable farming (tunnel farms), poultry value chain production (broilers and layers), and agro-processing.
In Cottonlands, Fuze contributed 13 hydroponic tunnels valued at 2.8 million rand, and also financed the modernization of container infrastructure and the construction of a concrete slab between buildings to optimize the movement of goods and livestock.
Furthermore, the municipality noted that over 400 beneficiaries from the Ottawa and Cottonlands Agri-Park sites have benefited from the training and skills development programs organized by the Fuze Business Initiative over the past two years.
The municipality also relies on its Agribusiness Masterplan, which serves as a functional plan defining the strategic direction and detailed guidelines for implementing high-level agribusiness initiatives. The partnership with the Fuze Business Initiative is intended to strengthen this core objective—increasing the productivity of the agribusiness value chain.
According to the report, the municipal Agricultural Division is required to provide annual progress reports to the EDPC throughout the three-year agreement period. The municipality clarified that there are no financial obligations to taxpayers, as each party will bear its own costs related to the implementation of agreed activities, unless otherwise stipulated in separate project agreements.