SFC diversifies into agriculture to support food security

NHLANGANO – Shiselweni Forestry Company (SFC) is diversifying into agriculture through maize, sugar beans and beef production as part of efforts to support Eswatini’s national food security.

SFC Chief Executive Manager: Timber, Dietmar Schroeder, said the company was expanding beyond forestry as it sought to contribute to productive activity in the country and create greater value from its resources.

Speaking on behalf of SFC during the Shiselweni Business Dinner hosted in honour of His Majesty King Mswati III at the Mbangweni Royal Residence on Thursday evening, Schroeder said agriculture was now part of the company’s direction.

“We are also actively diversifying into agriculture, specifically maize, sugar beans and beef production, to support Eswatini’s national food security,” he said.

The move comes as SFC continues to focus on increasing the value generated from its existing forestry operations, with the company seeking to process more of the timber grown on its properties within Eswatini.

Schroeder said more than 70 per cent of what SFC grew and harvested was already beneficiated locally.

He said local beneficiation ensured that more skills, technical capability and economic activity remained connected to the country.

“For us, beneficiation is not simply about processing timber. It is about taking something grown here and creating more from it here – through people, skills, products, businesses and capability,” he said.

The company’s forestry strategy includes strengthening the productive value of its plantations, improving the reliability of timber supply, making better use of the resource and developing higher-value products and markets.

Schroeder said SFC was increasing the volumes processed through its sawmill and pole yards and had recently added a peeler plant at Peak.

He said the company’s vision was to process as much of the timber grown on SFC property as possible within Eswatini, using its own and neighbouring facilities.

While forestry remains central to SFC’s operations, the expansion into agriculture adds food production to the company’s activities.

Schroeder said the company’s focus was not simply on growing more, but on creating more value from what it produced.

He also stressed that the benefits of SFC’s operations should extend beyond the company itself and reach businesses and communities connected to its value chain.

“The local businesses and enterprises across our value chain should also have opportunities to build capability and strengthen their own businesses,” he said.

Schroeder said SFC’s activities were linked to more than 6 000 livelihoods, representing families and households, as well as people gaining skills and experience through their involvement in the company’s operations.

He said the company’s role in the economy should be measured not only by what it produced, but also by what became stronger because of its presence.

This included local businesses that could participate in the supply chain and communities surrounding its plantations.

Schroeder said this was particularly important in Shiselweni, where businesses, families and communities were seeking meaningful economic opportunities.

“For growth to matter, people must be able to recognise themselves in it. And for progress to last, it must make sense in the places where it happens,” he said.

He said SFC would continue working with Government, traditional leadership and communities as it pursued its activities.

The company’s agricultural diversification is therefore being positioned alongside its forestry operations, with maize, sugar beans and beef production forming part of its contribution to national food security.

Schroeder said SFC could not build Eswatini’s future alone, but could play its part by creating skills, livelihoods, stronger businesses and opportunities within the country.

He said the company’s objective was to ensure that the resources produced locally generated value that extended beyond the products themselves and contributed to a stronger future for Eswatini.

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