Every bottle of All Gold tomato sauce contains 36 tomatoes, or so the famous advertisement in the nineties claimed. The question is, where do these delicious tomatoes come from. During a recent Tiger Brands heritage tour, the process from seed to table was meticulously explained.

These are not just any tomatoes used for this delicious sauce, and farmers who grow tomatoes for Tiger Brands follow strict steps to supply tomatoes of only the best quality.

Tiger Brands supports and uplifts farmers

Tiger Brands is the largest purchaser of raw materials in Africa, driven by its status as one of the biggest manufacturers on the continent. Mary-Jane Morifi, the Chief Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Officer at Tiger Brands, explains that their tomato suppliers were primarily commercial farmers. However, Tiger Brands wanted to extend opportunities to small-scale farmers, offering them opportunities for growth, with the potential of eventually developing into commercial farmers.

They recognised the need to support these smaller farmers, as initial input costs were simply too high for them to manage. These farmers owned land but did not have title deeds, which meant they could not approach banks for loans. Additionally, they lacked the technical know-how to produce the quantity and quality of tomatoes that Tiger Brands required. In response, Tiger Brands launched its enterprise and supplier development programme. This initiative ensures that Tiger Brands will purchase every tomato the farmer plants.

Essentially, no seed is planted unless Tiger Brands commits to buying the harvest. Despite this additional support, Mary-Jane notes that South African farmers do not produce enough to meet Tiger Brands’ requirements, forcing them to import products. These imports include grains, except maize. However, in 2023, South Africa produced 40% less maize, which had to be imported as well. Tiger Brands has not made empty promises. They have already established a R100 million fund to support emerging farmers who supply products to the company.

“Our strategy is to prioritise South African farmers first, then African farmers, and finally expand into other countries,” Mary-Jane explains.

A worker carries crates of tomatoes to the fields to be filled.

The cultivation process and negotiations with farmers

One of the farms supplying tomatoes to Tiger Brands is the DR NJ Nesane farm in Musina. Here, Ntuseni Jnr Nesane and Khathutshelo Nesane continue to farm on the land their father started about 30 years ago. They mainly farm with tomatoes and butternuts. Their journey with Tiger Brands goes back a long way, and Ntuseni explains that their father taught them farming from a young age. He says that on their farm, there is no boss, and he and his brother ensure they are in the fields every day with the workers.

“This is the only way to make sure you know exactly what is happening on your farm, by physically doing the work and keeping an eye on what is happening,” he says, laughing. Their contract with Tiger Brands stipulates that they must deliver 2 400 tonnes of tomatoes per year. They are not the only farmers in the Musina area, and Sipho Modiba, Agricultural Manager of Tiger Brands, says that farmers in Musina produced 25 000 tonnes of tomatoes last year. However, the Nesane brothers are the largest Tiger Brands tomato farmers in the area. They farm on 450 hectares of land and employ about 150 permanent employees.

They try to use as few temporary workers as possible. Ntuseni explains that the reason for this is because they prefer to employ people who know what they are doing and understand the processes. One of their biggest challenges is the lack of land. Because their farm is not very large, their land does not get a chance to rest between seasons. They generally harvest between 80 and 90 tonnes of tomatoes per hectare but have previously harvested up to 250 tonnes per hectare. They plant butternuts, pumpkins, and gem squash for crop rotation. The tomatoes they plant are a specific cultivar. The cultivar does not grow tall and produces more tomatoes per plant. It also has a higher fiber content, which is better for the tomato sauce production process.

The agreement between farmers and Tiger Brands

Growing tomatoes for Tiger Brands is not as simple as planting and selling. Each year, All Gold determines how much tomato paste they will need and sets production quotas for farmers accordingly. Every farmer commits to delivering a specific quantity of tomatoes. Due to varying farm sizes, each farmer decides how much he can supply. Larger farmers provide up to 10 000 tonnes of tomatoes per season. The total quantity is divided between farmers in Musina and those in Lutzville, located in the Western Cape. A planting schedule is drawn up to determine how many seedlings each farmer will need, as well as planting and harvest times. In 2023, Tiger Brands used 29 million seeds, purchased at a cost of R30 million. During the growing season, all factory equipment is dismantled and thoroughly serviced.

Farmers place their seedling orders with the nursery of their choice, and the nursery informs Tiger Brands of how much seed they will need to grow the seedlings. These seeds are then purchased and delivered to the nurseries. When the tomatoes are delivered, the price of the seedlings is deducted from the payment the farmer receives for his tomatoes. Tiger Brands also offers farmers a cash advance at the beginning of the season. A farmer can receive 10% of the value of his contract in cash, which can be used for input costs.

This amount is deducted once the harvest is sold. In the case of a natural disaster, Tiger Brands reviews the contract to see how they can assist the farmer in minimising losses. Farmers are also incentivised with a bonus for meeting their quota. If a farmer exceeds their quota, they receive an extra R120 for every tonne of tomatoes delivered above the quotas. The tomato harvesting season in Musina typically runs from April to September, and from January to May in Lutzville. Tiger Brands requires 100 000 tonnes of tomatoes annually to produce All Gold tomato sauce. Tiger Brands’ farmers supply 72 000 tonnes of these tomatoes, while the remainder is imported if the farmers cannot meet the full requirement. So, next time you pour tomato sauce over your fries, you will know where those delicious tomatoes come from.