OUR STORY
Our Story
Where it all Started
Since he was a young boy, Nick Serfontein dreamed of becoming a farmer. In 1983, he took a leap of faith and purchased a small piece of land and his first herd of 30 commercial Bonsmara heifers. His passion, determination and hard work have turned his farm into a thriving business, and he is now one of the leading Bonsmara farmers in South Africa.
Nick’s firsthand experiences with the agricultural industry showed him that there was a need for better solutions. He was inspired to create a holistic farming approach that would help other small-scale farmers to achieve profitability in South Africa. The result of Nick’s vision is the Sernick Group – a diversified agricultural company that owns assets along the entire value chain.
Even though Nick had already achieved a lot, he wasn’t content yet. His dream had turned into a calling to not only achieve great things in farming, but to help others do the same. Nick realised that he needed to have a separate company to deal with farmer development programmes, value chain development, and community development. This initiative has led to the creation of SerDev, a development implementation company that was launched in 2021 as a separate company within the Sernick group. The goal of this company is to coach developing farmers and help them achieve profitable farming.
Inspired by the results achieved by SerDev, the Sernick Group have teamed up to create Sustainable Agri NPC, a non-profit company dedicated to further supporting farmers and rural development. This initiative was created in response to the need for funding from corporates, donors, and other philanthropic organisations. SerDev and Temong, the Sernick Group’s BEE Strategic Partners, will be implementing the agricultural development programs funded by Sustainable Agri NPC.
What we do
The Sustainable Agri NPC is committed to supporting new farmers in the agricultural sector in South Africa and, eventually, across the African continent. We provide funding and resources to help inexperienced or under-resourced farmers to develop and grow their businesses. Our goal is to create a sustainable agriculture industry that benefits everyone.
The 10% ownership in Temong will help provide study bursaries for the trust members’ children in the future, giving them the opportunity to get a good education. This will benefit the trusts, farmers, and workers, as they will all have access to skilled and educated employees. The trusts in question are the Farmers Development Trust as well as the Sernick Workers Trust.