Joburg Market: Global Agendas Cloaked in Local Empowerment?
The Joburg Market’s Farmers and SMME Day portrays itself as a driver of local economic empowerment. Yet, beneath the surface, could this initiative serve as another tool to funnel small farmers and businesses into compliance with global elite frameworks?
Held on 3 October 2024, the Joburg Market’s Farmers and SMME Day aimed to connect local farmers and small businesses with opportunities for growth through various workshops and networking sessions. Topics like compliance, market access, and productivity improvements took centre stage, signalling a push towards “modernisation” and “efficiency.”
But behind the glossy presentations, there’s a lingering question: Is this modern push really about benefiting grassroots entrepreneurs, or is it about making them fit into the neatly packaged framework of global control? The increasing insistence on certification and regulatory compliance could exclude those who don’t have the means or desire to conform, consolidating power in the hands of larger corporations with the resources to meet these demands.
Governments and global organisations often tout such initiatives as beneficial, but when examined closely, they may be coercing smaller players into a system designed to favour the powerful. The very players claiming to help could also be gatekeepers, limiting who can participate in the market.
Conclusion:
As we look deeper into the Joburg Market’s Farmers and SMME Day, we must question whether this “empowerment” is genuine. Are small farmers and businesses truly being uplifted, or are they being corralled into a structure of compliance that serves elite interests more than their own?
