For South Africa's ZZ2, It Starts with the Soil
ZZ2 produces around 50 percent of all the tomatoes sold in South Africa, yet was facing an existential crisis by the late 1990s. The iconic 100+ year-old brand’s farming practices were increasingly becoming unsustainable, demanding more and more inputs while delivering declining returns. It took a profound mind shift to turn the company’s fortunes around. Ultimately, ZZ2 steered away from conventional agriculture to a system that seeks to farm in harmony with nature. That system, Natuurboerdery®, began with a focus on soil health – but did not end there. The results have been dramatic. Today, the company produces twice as many boxes of top-graded tomatoes on only about 100 more hectares of land.
For South Africa's ZZ2, It Starts with the Soil
ZZ2 produces around 50 percent of all the tomatoes sold in South Africa, yet was facing an existential crisis by the late 1990s. The iconic 100+ year-old brand’s farming practices were increasingly becoming unsustainable, demanding more and more inputs while delivering declining returns. It took a profound mind shift to turn the company’s fortunes around. Ultimately, ZZ2 steered away from conventional agriculture to a system that seeks to farm in harmony with nature. That system, Natuurboerdery®, began with a focus on soil health – but did not end there. The results have been dramatic. Today, the company produces twice as many boxes of top-graded tomatoes on only about 100 more hectares of land.
