Agristar, a fourth-generation farming business was founded in 1948, starting with Sugarcane and Subtropical fruit in the eastern regions of Mpumalanga. Today they specialize in growing, processing and marketing tree nuts of the highest quality. The founder of their company was one of the first farmers to plant Macadamia nuts in Mpumalanga. In addition to this, he is a founding member of SAMAC. According to Agristar, the business has enjoyed contributing to South Africa’s tree nut industry for more than half a century and they continue to support this growing and prosperous industry.
Agristar adheres to strict environmental guidelines and they are firmly focused on striving for more environmentally friendly farming methods and the reduction of their carbon footprint.
Agristar develops tree nurseries close to their farms and manufacture their own compost. Their trees receive the best of care, with minimum impact on the environment. Using the best soil management practices, water conservation technology, and integrated pest management programs, Agristar treads lightly on the environment. Pest management is an integrated process and they have found that through regular scouting, reactive management and encouraging a balanced ecosystem, they keep intervention to a minimum without sacrificing quality. In addition to their integrated farming methods, Agristar continuously removes alien vegetation for the natural fauna and flora to thrive. All their farms have indigenous wildlife reserves to support the wildlife in the area. They also have a program to plant more indigenous trees to further conserve the natural environment.
Agristar implemented effective micro-organisms, which they brew themselves, as well as composting to enhance fertilizer uptake and promote soil health.
With the use of probes in the orchard, Agristar manages optimal irrigation.
Cover crops are planted in the orchards, which are mulched. Trichoderma is used to stimulate root growth and out-compete negative pathogens.
Agristar has implemented bee gardens in designated areas on their farms. In the undeveloped areas of their farms, Agristar preserves ecological and wildlife havens. They make use of a biological, organic IPM (Integrated Pest Management) program.
Through this digital recognition platform, we celebrate the Carbon Heroes taking part in the Confronting Climate Change (CCC) Initiative for their considerable effort in calculating and understanding their carbon emissions.
Each Carbon Hero has their own digital QR code that can be displayed on their website and other marketing material, linking directly to their individual profile on the Carbon Heroes website.
The QR code provides a simple and innovative way for customers to learn about each Carbon Hero’s carbon offsetting and other sustainability initiatives, as well as engage with them on social media and other marketing channels.
With the Carbon Heroes QR code we aim to support a global transition towards sustainable development by recognising and celebrating the positive environmental impact of each Carbon Hero. By having a transparent display of their commitment to reducing emissions, Carbon Heroes demonstrate their dedication to a sustainable future, while building trust in their brand.
Find out more about the Carbon Heroes and CCC
Carbon Heroes is a recognition platform built on the ethos of transparency and trust. While only emissions datasets graded by Blue North qualify for the platform, we do not independently verify all the information our Heroes choose to post. By signing up to the platform each Carbon Hero acknowledges that they are responsible for the information they share and that, by sharing their sustainability credentials, their information is in the public domain and open to be scrutinised. We welcome such scrutiny. We have a clear set of guidelines for the use of the platform and the qualification for the various digital labels, and reserve the right to revoke the use of the platform where it is found these guidelines are not being followed and/or the information posted is misaligned with the stated ethos. Thank you for helping us maintain the integrity of the Carbon Heroes platform and our efforts to promote greater transparency and sustainability.
