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#OFMBusinessHour: Rooibos industry makes history

───   13:58 Sun, 24 Jul 2022

#OFMBusinessHour: Rooibos industry makes history  | News Article
Photo supplied by the South African Rooibos Council

The Rooibos industry recently disbursed the first cycle of benefit-sharing funds to the San and Khoi community of the country, in a history making agreement.

The history-making R12,2 million disbursement was unpacked on the OFM Business Hour by Adele du Toit, the spokesperson of the South African Rooibos Council.

Du Toit explains that South Africa is a signatory to the Nogoya Protocal which requires all who trade in indigenous biological resources such as rooibos, to share benefits with traditional knowledge holders in a fair and equitable way. What, however, makes this particular disbursement history-making is that other agreements in other parts of the world involved specific companies and traditional knowledge holders, whereas this agreement “encompasses the entire industry, ensuring all volumes of Rooibos sold are levied through one process,” says Du Toit.

A further 1,5% of the farm gate price of rooibos will be paid out into a trust annually. She adds “the use of the funds will be independently, decided by the National Khoi and San Council as well as the South African San Council. An annual report detailing the funds will be issued to the Department of Forest, Fisheries and Environment to ensure transparency". 

Previously on OFM, Joe Swart, Research Director at the council revealed rooibos is only grown in the Clanwilliam area in the Western Cape and that about half the crop is exported while half of it is consumed by South Africans. He adds that in order for the crop to grow successfully, it needs winter rainfall, extremely hot summers without almost any rain, as well as very sandy soil.

Also Read: Rooibos tea - a key ingredient in diabetes fight

Swart says because rooibos is naturally sweet, no sugar is needed. He explains that research has been done and showed that aspalathin – a unique phenolic compound found only in the Rooibos species – has been shown to improve blood glucose levels and therefore could help to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Research found that aspalathin was especially effective at lowering raised blood glucose levels in animal studies. Swart says these studies showed that aspalathin enhanced insulin activity - the hormone that controls blood sugar levels - by reducing inflammation and oxidative stress, which are factors that underlie the development of metabolic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. “Rooibos is not the golden bullet to clear the disease. As I say, if you drink rooibos and combine that with a healthy lifestyle it will go a long way in improving any diabetic’s condition,” adds Swart.

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