Formation of Kwanalu
Kwanalu is the official mouthpiece for organised agriculture in KwaZulu-Natal.
Our organization has its roots in a merger 10 years ago that took place amongst the then 107 year-old Natal Agricultural Union, the Madadeni Branch of the National African Farmers Union and the South Coast Indian Farmers Association.
After the disestablishment of the Natal Agricultural Union (founded in 1891) and the KwaZulu-Natal Farmers’ Union, Kwanalu was formed on 24 April 1997 with a Special Congress held at the Royal Showgrounds.
This prestigious event was attended by amongst others, the then President of South Africa, Mr Nelson Mandela, the KZN Premier, Dr Ben Ngubane, the national Minister of Agriculture, Mr Derek Hanekom and the leader of the House of Traditional Leaders and National Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Mongosuthu Buthelezi.
Kwanalu is a fully integrated non-racial, gender sensitive organisation for commercial and small-scale farmers, and remains a key stakeholder and credible organization in KwaZulu-Natal dealing with relevant issues on behalf of its some 3 500 members. It has a strong commodity and business affiliation which contributes to the institutional success and capacity resulting in a colletive base of 47000 farmers.
Farmers’ Associations are located throughout KwaZulu-Natal. These Associations are empowered to engage at a municipal level. The thread of continuity regarding issue management, policies and positions is entrenched in the networking and institutional structure.
The organization focuses on addressing key matters of a general nature amongst others; agricultural conditions, disaster management, infrastructure, land affairs etc. Kwanalu has proudly taken the lead in KwaZulu-Natal in dealing with numerous issues. We continue to proactively participate in agricultural issues. The Union has established a number of objectives and is currently interacting very successfully with all stakeholders.
After encountering many issues, e.g. land reform, fire and cold disasters, municipal rates and taxes, sectoral determination, AgriBEE, the foot and mouth outbreak, some of which are still ongoing, Kwanalu celebrated 10 years of service to its members in 2007.