Transformation within the citrus industry came under the spotlight at the second biennial Citrus Summit currently underway in Port Elizabeth.
Organisers said the summit, which is taking place at the Boardwalk Hotel & Conference Centre, provided a platform for pertinent topics to be discussed, including the current economic and political landscape.
The chairperson of the Citrus Grower's Association, Pieter Nortjé, said under the guidance of the CGA Grower Development Company there has been an increasing participation in the industry by previously disadvantaged individuals through Black Economic Empowerment and land redistribution initiatives.
"The citrus industry has taken a lead by establishing the Grower Development Company, of which 20% of our levies go directly to that and we're looking after 125 black growers in the citrus industry and they currently producing 10% of South Africa's production," he said.
Nortjé said the CGA has a strong focus on the training and development of emerging growers.
"In the industry itself we have the citrus academy which for years now we are training people specifically for the fruit industry with specific training material and even bursaries for university. We've got quite a few graduates already that's been trained through the citrus academy," he added.
