Generally

Martin Tauschke, CEO of SUNfarming GmbH: “We are proud that in 2020 we were once again able to demonstrate our earning power despite the effects of the pandemic. We are just as happy about the positive start into the 2021 financial year and the successful full placement of our listed debut bond. We will do everything in our power to live up to the trust of our investors and to establish ourselves as a reliable issuer on the capital market over the long term.”

SUNfarming GmbH recorded a successful 2020 financial year based on preliminary figures. SUNfarming was able to increase earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) by 29.4% from EUR 1.7 million to EUR 2.2 million. This corresponds to an improved EBITDA margin of 7.9% after 4.7% in the previous year. The annual surplus increased by 87.5% from EUR 0.8 million to EUR 1.5 million. The positive development is also reflected in the equity ratio, which rose from 24.7% to 34.9%.

For the 2021 financial year, SUNfarming expects to improve both sales and earnings. In the 1st quarter, projects with an installed capacity of approx. 5 MWp and in Poland of approx. 3.9 MWp were successfully implemented. In Germany there were seven roof-top projects with a total output of 3.5 MWp and two ground-mounted systems with an output of 750 kWp each.

For the rest of the year there are currently around 27.3 MWp of new projects being planned and implemented. More than 60% of these consist of free-field PV projects that are subject to tendering with a capacity of over 750 kWp, around 20% consist of classic EEG-compensated free-field systems with an output of up to 750 kWp and around 20% roof systems with a total output of over 100 kWp. In addition to the new projects, around 29 MWp of project expansions are being implemented, of which the first two projects will be completed in the second quarter. In addition, several major projects of 20 MWp and more are in development for 2022.

Gustav Radloff is not only an excellent CEO, but also a top runner at this year’s kayak marathon in South Africa. With this victory he qualified for the 2021 World Cup in Romania.
And as if that weren’t enough, he took part in two more marathons in the 45-50 and 35-50 age groups, where he came second and fourth.

The SUNfarming team warmly congratulates. We are very proud of him.

-I had a wonderful lifetime experience , as a not so technically person I truly have to say @Faure van Schalkwyk you are a super teacher / facilitator…@Anelda you are fantastic administrator. Thank you guys for a super experience and everyone whom I met , never was made to feel like I was less qualified thank you guys . I pray we all succeed in our future endeavors and may our paths meet again as we grow in the industry.. God bless you all Gentleman. Even me as a technical person really learned a lot.
-Thank you to all and for everything Faure and Anelda. You are legends.
-Yes. Thank you all. Learned an awful lot. Laughed and worried. You are very wise men with many years of knowledge and experience. Thank you Anelda for all your hard work and Faure. I will come and do it with you again anytime. It was awfully nice
-Best online Presenters i have experience – kept once attention at all times
-They have given us a good content and very easy to grasp. They interacted with everyone well
-They are all prepared and professional
-Very impressed with the presenters’ ability to stimulate participation. Kudos to the team for the video training setup which I think is quite effective.
– …it is always a pleasure to attend SSEG courses. Faure, Dr Botha and Josh are fantastic and is professional

You can find out more about the Solar Training Centre here

In the video you can see what we have achieved so far

“None of us can do that much
like we all can do together “.
With this in mind, we wish you and your families a Merry Christmas and a hopeful start to the new year. Health, happiness and good luck- combined with our sincere thanks for your trust!

With festive greetings
Your SUNfarming team

Equipped with a starter kit for their own vegetable gardens (watering can, soil, bucket, vegetable plants), our first trainees left our training 4 weeks ago with a certificate proofing they had successfully attended the training in vegetable growing and healthy nutrition.
This week we visited them at home to see whether what they had learned could also be implemented at home – and we are thrilled! All of them have created a small vegetable garden, built a fence, the plants are strong and, thanks to good care, grow into healthy vegetables.
Our project shows that with the help to help themselves, and with our trainings, we have given people in the townships of South Africa hope that everyone can contribute something to improve their own living conditions. Parents can be a role model for their children, children learn that it pays to be proactive and how important a healthy diet is.
Pictures often say more than words:

The trainings are part of the SUNfarming Vitality Porridge Project in South Africa. The SUNfarming CoVID-19 Response project is funded by develoPPP funds from the German Ministry for Economic cooperation and Development through KfW / DEG. The project is supported by June & Andrew Mlangeni Foundation and F.E.E.D. (Food-Energy-Education-Development e.V.), which support SUNfarming in the implementation.

SUNfarming Vitality Porridge Project in South Africa is a PPP project and is funded by KfW/DEG. The project is supported in the organization by develoPPP, June & Andrew Mlangeni Foundation, german cooperation, F.E.E.D. (Food-Energy-Education-Development e.V.).

Multiple award-winning SUNfarming Training Centers
More than 1,000 training courses have been held since 2013 at the SF Solar Training Center and SF Food & Energy Training Center for participants from all over Africa. With the help of KfW/DEG, SUNfarming / Alensys successfully implemented the Solar Training Center at North-West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa, as part of a PPP Public Private Partnership Program in 2013. In 2015 the solar training center was expanded by 15 agro-solar greenhouses to become the SF Food & Energy Training Center. The training centers, which are constantly being expanded even after the funding period has expired, are in full-time operation and, in addition to solar power for the Campus, also supply fresh vegetables to the North-West University Campus, a grocery store in Potchefstroom (Pick & Pay) and several catering facilities.

Fresh vegetables are important for a healthy diet, but people often lack the opportunities to grow them, the money to buy them or the firewood to prepare them. Together with our technical business partners in South Africa, we have developed a vitality-strengthening grain-based dry food (Vitality Porridge). Vitality Porridge not only increases performance, but also contains medicinal herbs from our own cultivation that are known for their positive effects on health. The Vitality Porridge Project offers immediate help against hunger and malnutrition. The project also provides sustainable help through the certified training courses in vegetable growing and healthy eating. These courses are presented to the local population – specifically to people who are without work. Labor is required for food production including in the Food & Energy centers. Accredited Agri-SETA trainers in organic vegetable cultivation provided by SUNfarming South Africa take on the training of these workers. In this way, we are creating new jobs. Our trainees are much better equipped to find work in the agricultural sector after they have completed our training courses.

The courses offered in vegetable growing and healthy eating are controlled by the South African authority SAQA (South African Qualification Authority). The certificates awarded at the end represent a nationally recognized qualification which facilitates entry into the labor market.

The first training took place on September 14th in the local parish. The parishes support the project comprehensively by scouting participants and by providing parish gardens for the practical training. As a result, the church garden should continue to be cultivated by community members and serve as a source of food for the poorest.

So far, over 20 schools with over 10,000 students and a minimum of 60,000 family members have taken part in the project. Up to 300 people who have become unemployed will be trained in the training program. The project offers the 60 best candidates (possible future entrepreneurs) further training on the agricultural property provided by SUNfarming in Potchefstroom. As a licensed SUNfarming franchiser, the majority of them should help to supply supermarkets with organic vegetables and herbs.

Theoretical and practical training includes everything that is necessary for a successful harvest, from soil preparation to sowing, irrigation and pest control. The gardens laid out by the first group are expanded and maintained by subsequent groups. In the course of the growing season, the following groups can learn pest control and pruning in practice. All trainees receive a file with the training material. On the last day of the course, each trainee receives the nationally recognized training certificate from the SAQA (South African Qualification Authority) for successful participation in a small handover ceremony.

As an immediate aid, Vitality Porridge will be distributed to school children as a daily vitamin and nutrient-rich supplement to school meals during the project period. In addition, the children receive a 5 kg bag to take home for their families. Since there are often not enough plates in schools, the Vitality Porridge can also be diluted and consumed more like a milkshake. The children love it all the more because they say it tastes like a vanilla shake.

The course participants can also take a 5kg bag of Vitality Porridge home with them. The joy is great, so is the need. Many ask whether further donations and training can be expected.The school programs supported by KfW/DEG are intended to tackle malnutrition, one of the biggest development problems in African countries, at the root. Through training courses directly in the production facilities and in cooperation with the parishes, jobs and sustainable future prospects are created for the people in Africa.

“The medicinal herbs for Vitality Porridge are already being grown, dried and bottled by trainees as multiple cultures (intercropping) together with various types of vegetables in our Food & Energy Training Centers. The extruders provided on the Food & Energy systems for the production of Vitality Porridge have been technically enlarged so that they can produce up to 200,000 food servings per day, ”explains Peter Schrum, SUNfarming founder and main shareholder.

“We would like to express our thanks to KfW/DEG without their support we would not have been able to implement the emergency food aid and training programs in the Vitality Porridge Project,” continues Peter Schrum.

Our PV open space systems offer many plants and animals urgently needed living space that has been lost due to intensively used agricultural areas. Our perennial wild herb meadows make an important contribution to promoting biodiversity.According to the Biodiversity Council, the extinction of pollinator insects threatens global food production with a value of 235 to 577 billion dollars per year. Out of 8 million insects, 1 million are threatened with extinction.

Extensive permanent green areas are created under the modules of our PV open-air systems, offering habitats for many animal and plant species that have already disappeared from intensively used agricultural areas. More insects mean more breeding birds. Here you can find food and e.g. Also sitting on the module rows and security fences. We do not fertilize or use any pesticides and there is also no machine tillage, factors that can negatively influence the fertility of the soil and the water balance. At the same time, the wild herb meadows promote humus formation, and the humus in turn binds carbon dioxide (CO2).

We work together with shepherds who like to use the fenced PV systems for their sheep. This summer there are 1200 sheep that keep the vegetation between the module rows short. The security fence offers protection from wolves. The module rows also offer weather protection in the rain or provide shade in summer.

„Emergency aid through food donations is intended to help combat acute hunger. But in the long term we want to give people a sustainable future perspective through education and jobs in our Food & Energy training centre“, continous Peter Schrum.

Together with local partners in South Africa, Togo, Uganda, Burkina Faso and other African countries, high-quality school meals for children are to be provided. The porridge, prepared with water or milk, contains all the necessary nutrients and also the immune-boosting medicinal herbs Artemisia, ginger and turmeric. Together with emergency food aid, the Food & Energy plants create training positions in horticulture and for electrical assistants. Further training for physics and biology teachers in healthy nutrition and sustainable energy production are offered. The knowledge obtained can be passed on directly to school children, students and other interested parties.
With Food & Energy plants and Vitality Porridge Production, SUNfarming makes a sustainable contribution to combating the effects of the corona pandemic.

SUNfarming Food & Energy

3.5 tons of corn flour were donated to Uganda.
The truckloads were handed over to the district government of the affected Covid19 region Adjumani on May 1st, 2020. The 30 MWp Food & Energy plant planned by SF will also be built here.
The corn flour was handed over by Prince Kimbugwe Edward, SUNfarming Managing Director Uganda, to the Kalungu district board to support poor communities.
Minister of Agriculture Hon. Vincent Bamulangaki and RDC Mr. Tukikiriza Kerebu, members of the Covid 19 District Task Force of the President of Uganda, are responsible for distributing the donations. They thanked SUNfarming GmbH and SF Uganda for the quick and unbureaucratic help.

The system is grid-connected and will shortly, in consultation with the local electricity provider Jirama, supply the city of Antsirabe with clean, renewable solar energy.