Hazera South Africa, the local arm of global vegetable seed breeder Hazera and a member of the Limagrain Group, hosted a Women’s Day celebration on 7 August, honouring the women driving Southern Africa’s agricultural value chain — from trial plots and packhouses to procurement desks and boardrooms. The event also marks the informal opening of a milestone year for the company: in 2026, Hazera South Africa marks two decades of operating in the South African market.
The gathering, held during South Africa’s national Women’s Month, brought together customers, growers, agronomists, industry partners and Hazera staff. It comes as new data continues to confirm what the seed industry has long observed on the ground: women are structurally central to agriculture’s labour force, even where their contribution is under-recorded.
According to agricultural economist Wandile Sihlobo, women represented roughly a third of South Africa’s approximately 960,000 primary-sector agricultural workers in the first quarter of 2026, and own or operate an estimated one- fifth of the country’s VAT-registered commercial farming units. Across the wider region, a report released in April 2026 by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Natural Resources Institute at the University of Greenwich, and African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) found that 76% of working women in Sub-Saharan Africa are employed within agrifood systems.
“Agriculture is built on resilience, dedication, and vision — qualities that women demonstrate every day,” said Corniel Louwies, General Manager of Hazera South Africa, in his welcome address to guests. “Their leadership, expertise, and determination continue to shape the future of farming and food production, not only in South Africa but across the world. At Hazera, we are privileged to work alongside many inspiring women — customers, growers, partners, colleagues and industry leaders — whose contributions make a meaningful difference.”
Louwies used the occasion to call for continued investment in women’s leadership across the sector. “As we celebrate Women’s Day, let us also reflect on the importance of creating opportunities, supporting growth, and encouraging leadership for women across all areas of agriculture,” he said. “Together, we can continue building an industry where talent, passion, and innovation thrive.”
The celebration doubles as the informal launch of Hazera South Africa’s 20th-anniversary year. Since establishing a presence in the country, the company has built relationships with more than 1,000 farmers across South Africa’s commercial and emerging farming sectors, supplying hybrid vegetable seed genetics across 17 crop categories — including tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, watermelons, onions and leafy brassicas. Hazera South Africa says further details of its 20th-anniversary programme, including farmer stories, industry events and product milestones, will be shared across the remainder of 2026.
About Hazera
Hazera South Africa operates as part of Hazera, a global vegetable seed breeder and member of the Limagrain Group — the world’s fourth-largest seed company. Hazera develops more than 1,600 vegetable varieties for over 130 markets worldwide, reinvesting 30–35% of global profits into research and development annually.
