South Africa: The sky’s the limit for this rooftop hop farmer
Rooftop farmer Khaya Maloney knew he had made it when SA Pilsner used his hops for one of their ‘rustic seasonal lagers’
By Tiisetso Manoko
Food For Mzansi
July 11, 2022
Excerpt:
Maloney says one disadvantage of rooftop farming with hops, is the limited space, which limits the number of plants you can grow.
“The advantageous part is instead of harvesting once every 12 months, you’re able to manipulate the growing to happen once every three months. Pests are also more controlled, less water and energy are required and you can introduce hops to the inner city.
“What I have learned is that it has to have an efficient grow cycle that sustains the business with three months output,” he explains.
Although he had some financial support, funding, enterprise development and land have been some of the challenges that he has faced. This also impacts other smallholder farmers and makes access to markets even more difficult.
Maloney says through social media and what the different mediums are publishing regarding farming, the narrative of farming among young people is changing for the better, which leads to the youth having an appetite on the sector.
