INTEGRA FOOD

 

 Who Are We?

The current agricultural food chain is very long with a disconnect between the producer and the consumer.  Part of what Integra is working to do is to make food more accessible through electronic platforms.  While there are many such platforms in agriculture there isn’t one dedicated to regenerative agriculture.  iFood is the Integra subsidiary tasked with the development of this platform and the process of bridging that gap between the producer and the consumer. In this context iFood provides the “pull” factor by providing an outlet for regenerative produce.  Currently all produce lands in the same conventional value chain, diluting the work the regenerative farmers are doing on their farms.  By making an alternative value chain available iFood wishes to “pull” farmers into becoming regenerative farmers.

  • Cobus Roode: Integra Trust Trustee,  Integra Food and Integra Link Director

Cobus qualified as a Soil Scientist and Plant Nutritionist with an Honours degree from the University of Pretoria.  In 1993 he joined an independent financial planning practice, De Wet De Villiers Financial Services CC, in Rustenburg in the North West Province.  He further qualified himself and obtained an Honours degree in financial planning specialising in individual and corporate health care and consulting in 2000. 

Cobus has 26 years active service and experience in corporate and individual financial planning, and for the last 13 years he has his own Financial Services Practice.  He also received an International Certified Financial Planning (CFP) qualification.  Cobus and his enterprise served the major Platinum producers in South Africa with a range of products, including the design, implementation and maintenance of their Corporate Pension and Provident and Healthcare Schemes.  A special focus was to develop and introduce custom designed financial products and a service delivery mechanism to Black Mineworkers who were never exposed to quality and accredited financial products and services.

Cobus integrates his two passions, that of being a soil scientist and that of being a financial planner, by being active in no-till, conservation and regenerative agriculture with a special emphasis on training and establishing emerging farmers to become financially independent, commercial farmers.

  • Dr Pieter Prinsloo: Integra Food Director

“I am an African…I firmly believe that all people should be afforded the opportunity to grow and prosper from the soil of this continent which has nurtured us, molded us, and has made us the diverse and vibrant people that we are today”  PW PrinslooPieter is a practising dentist and cattle farmer from Queenstown in the Eastern Cape, and also a director of Langside Meats Pty (Ltd) which supplies the South African market with naturally produced meat (http://www.langsidemeats.co.za/), and is currently the Chairperson of the Commodity Chamber of Agri SA (https://www.agrisa.co.za), South Africa’s leading organised primary agricultural establishment..

  • “My passion in life is to improve inter-racial relations in a post-apartheid South Africa – to entrench relationships built on transparency, trust and ethics,
  • I believe that communities are still somewhat polarised in Southern Africa due to historically-based misunderstandings which in turn have led to a lack of willingness to deliberate and listen to one another,
  • I believe I have a huge role to play as mediator between divergent communities to ascertain and develop the common denominator we have and that is: food security and prosperity for all Southern African citizens,
  • It is one of my life ambitions to play a meaningful role in creating a communal belief that South and Sub-Saharan Africa is an area of vast potential and indeed is a place worthy of developing for future generations – the focused target is to educate, mentor, and build sustainable capacity via workable frameworks,
  • My expertise lies in the Agricultural field and my dream/calling is to focus on and develop this industry to reach the next level. Ninety percent of rural Africa depends on agricultural enterprise for survival and I feel I can contribute and add much value in many meaningful ways,
  • My conscience tells me that none other than Africans can provide solutions for African problems. I reiterate that I am proud to broadcast that I am an African by heart and by heritage and will do everything in my power to see prosperity in marginalized communities.”

Pieter has been involved in organized agriculture for more than 20 years and forms an integral part of the following:

    • The Red Meat industry
    • Agriculture Produce Agents Council (APAC)
    • Agri BEE Charter Council