SA-designed tower system offers growanywhere flexibility

Fresh Life Produce has developed a vertical growing system designed to meet the specific needs of African producers. Louis- Gillis Janse van Rensburg and Akhona Gxuluwe spoke to Glenneis Kriel about this system, which has garned international recognition and awards.

-  Glenneis Kriel

Louis-Gillis Janse van Rensburg, founder of Fresh Life Produce, always yearned to have his own business. Reasoning that there was a need for innovative solutions in the agriculture sector and wanting to contribute to food security in South Africa, he finally launched his company in 2016.

His first attempt used an aquaponics production system, but this failed to meet his expectations.

“It was relatively expensive, and needed a constant power supply and high level of skill to operate. I needed something simpler, so that more people could benefit from it,” he recalls.

With the help of his father, Rensie, who worked at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, and his mother, Helene, a retired teacher, he went on to design and develop a unique verticalgrowing system called the African Grower.

His first major client was the South African National Defence Force, which wanted to upskill its reserve force members and was looking for a way to privatise its kitchens by sourcing food from these growers.

Since then, more than 1 500 African Grower units (‘towers’) have found a place in agricultural programmes across South Africa and Lesotho.

Janse van Rensburg has received several accolades for his innovation. In 2017, he received CapeTalk’s Small Business Award, and in 2018 won a trip to Israel as part of Investec and Ennovate’s agricultural competition. Two years later, the system won the United Nations Development Programme Cultivate Competition and came second in the French-South African Agricultural Institute’s Innovation Competition.

THE SYSTEM