The Department of Agriculture will give financial assistance to 20 groups each year for the next three years to support the Food Security Drive. This programme wants to support especially women and youth groups. An amount of up to R50,000 is available for each project, and the project must adhere to the criteria and requirements detailed below.

• A project proposal, in a specific format, must be submitted in the previous financial year.
• Only historically disadvantaged community groups can apply, but service providers can assist with the preparation of project proposals.
• Agricultural infrastructure, agricultural inputs and other requirements for setting up the garden will be funded.
• Persons earning (even if retired) more than the government's minimum wage, persons working for government, and councillors do not qualify for support.

The proposal must include the following information:

• legal entity of the group
• if land is leased, then a contract of not less than 5 years
• funding received previously from any government department
• involvement of members, their responsibilities and capacity
• viability of the project
• training received by members
• track record and performance in terms of previous projects and funding
• funding amount required for project (total)
• other partners involved in project.

Projects will be considered twice a year, in April and August.

Please note that the funding requested during one financial year will only be made available during the next year.

To get more information, as well as the format for the proposal, the persons below should be contacted.

For the:

• West Coast District Municipality
• City of Cape Town

For the:

• Boland District Municipality
• Overberg District Municipality

• Eden District Municipality
• Central Karoo District Municipality