Nedbank is delighted to congratulate its client, Andrew Morphew of Colbourne Farm in the KZN Midlands, for winning the Milk Producers Organisation (MPO) Nedbank Stewardship Award 2021 at a virtual ceremony held Tuesday night, 19 October 2021.
The highly-respected award recognises dairy farmers who are excellent stewards of their farming enterprises. Stewardship addresses sustainability in the wider context and encompasses aspects such as protecting our natural resources, fair and ethical treatment of people and animals, producing a safe and healthy product, and farming profitably.
Daneel Rossouw, Functional Head of Agriculture at Nedbank’s Relationship Channels, says that this is the second year that a Nedbank client has won this important award, reflecting the mutual values that Nedbank shares with its clients. ‘Andrew has managed to convert his dairy farm to 100% organic in just two years, which in itself is a noteworthy achievement. He and his team have extraordinary vision, insight and understanding of all aspects of stewardship and are fully committed to continuing to improve. This farming operation is truly inspirational.’
Rossouw adds that, for Nedbank, which has sponsored the Stewardship Awards for the past three years, sustainability and stewardship of our natural resources and human capital is of utmost importance. ‘With increased pressure on our natural resources and clear evidence daily of the impact of climate change it is vital that, as a society, we address these challenges head on. This conviction is what underpins much of what we support at Nedbank. Strategically, we aim not only to be good with money but more importantly to do good with it as well, and it’s fantastic to see our clients aligned with us in this regard.”
For Morphew, stewardship underpins the fundamentals of business that drive both profitability and productivity at Colbourne Farm. ‘Environmental stewardship, community support and a solid, profitable business are absolutely interlinked and connected – you cannot have one without the other.’
This philosophy echoes the findings of the recent report Making a business case for sustainable dairy production, released by Trace & Save in collaboration with WWF-SA and Nedbank, which shows that sustainable best practices boost profitable milk production and have a lower environmental impact.
Morphew adds that in South Africa, where there is little public sector support or encouragement to evolve towards sustainable business models, private sector pioneers like Nedbank and WWF-SA are vital. ‘Apart from its clear commitment to driving sustainability, particularly in the agricultural sector, Nedbank offers fantastic renewable energy financing that makes so much sense. The investment is guaranteed to yield a return and I wish we’d gone this route sooner. Nedbank is driving best practice in sustainability and empowering us as farmers.’
Distributed on behalf of Nedbank: Gillian Gernetzky
Percheron Strategic Communications
Tel: +27 21 790 2392
Cell: +27 82 892 8378
email: gillian@percheron.co.za
Published on Wednesday, 20th October 2021 - 17:37
Recent Posts
disclaimer