Rob Stapylton-Smith is a commercial dairy farmer from Donnybrook and a director of Stapylton-Smith Farming CC, Baynesfield Estate and the SA Large Herds Conference. He has been farming for 30 years and believes that farmers have a debt to pay and need to work together to redress the wrongs of the past. HGA he believes provides the vehicle through which to achieve this.

Rory Bryden has been a commercial dairy farmer in Kokstad for 20 years and is the former chairperson of the Mount Currie Farmers Association and HGA. He believes HGA presents the opportunity to help developing farmers and people in our communities and in the process, secure the future of farmers and food security in our land.

HGA is a culmination of long and hard negotiations initiated by John Bredin to flesh out the mission statement of the initiative. This was driven by his conviction that it is not only the responsibility of government to ensure a sound economy but that every citizen should play whatever role they can to do so and in that way improve the current situation of poverty through meaningful and sustainable job creation. He remains convinced that agriculture can contribute significantly in this regard and particularly in the rural areas. John has retired from his position as a director of HGA but remains on the board as an honourary founding member.

Peter Christianson is a Chartered Accountant with over 20 years of experience on the board and audit committees of several public sector organisations. He was invited to join our board by his friend, John Bredin, and despite not living in our district has invested a great deal of time and effort into our organisation. HGA prioritises adherence to strict standards of corporate governance and accountability and is able to do so with the guidance received from Mr Christianson.

Dougie Strachan has been a commercial dairy farmer in the area between Umzimkhulu and Highflats since 1973, establishing a successful food security project with two communities in the process. He brings a great deal of wisdom on the subject of poverty alleviation through upskilling farmers at the household level and has obtained a Masters in Sustainable Development from Stellenbosch University on this topic. In seeking to make a meaningful contribution to the rural communities of this district, Mr Strachan believes Harry Gwala Agri’s mandate is aligned with his own in this regard.

Phila Mkhize is a Clinical Research Associate by profession but having grown up on a farm, is passionate about agriculture and it has always been his dream to make a contribution to the organised agricultural sector. He farms alongside an inspiring group of growing commercial farmers in Hlutankungu near Highflats. He believes that the promotion of agriculture in our rural communities is the backbone of a healthy future in our country.

Leigh-Anne Hauff is a registered Counselling Psychologist and married to a successful commercial dairy farmer in the Donnybrook area. She is excited about the role that agriculture (and commercial farmers in particular) can play in reducing the huge levels of inequality in South Africa. She believes that no project is too small and that connection and communication is the key.

Dale Hutton spent several years working in the environmental science field before returning to the district to work alongside his family on the dairy farm in Creighton. He has worked with people in rural communities across the continent and so has first-hand knowledge of the challenges that beset them but also holds innovative strategies to address these. He is enthusiastic about seeing local communities realising the full potential of agricultural practices in their areas.

Leigh Stokes is an artist living on a commercial dairy farm in Creighton with her husband and three children. After university, Leigh worked in the advertising industry both locally and abroad, before settling on the farm. She's been involved in many community associations over the years which has provided valuable insight into how small communities are run. Leigh brings creative thinking to the HGA strategy table and is excited to be working with a dynamic team of individuals who are committed to the sustainable upliftment of disadvantaged rural communities.

Nathan Barrow has been an agricultural consultant and accountant for 15 years during which time he also spent 9 years setting up and overseeing an 800-cow commercial dairy on community owned (restitution) land. He is passionate about education and the mentoring of farm managers and excited about the potential of rural communities to make meaningful contributions to food security by combining the use of latent land with innovative farming techniques to get the best use out of what they have in a sustainable way.

Cindy Kidger is a publicist whose PR agency represents numerous agricultural companies and organisations in South Africa. She is married to a dairy farmer in Creighton, and together they owner-manage a cheesery on the farm which produces a range of dairy products and cheeses which they supply to the hospitality and retail industries in KZN. Cindy is a strong advocate for education and the power of self-respect as a step in the right direction for raising the daily average income of households in Africa.

Dylan Weyer has been working as the only full-time employee at HGA since April 2018. He is responsible for managing and driving progress in the organisation’s two key focus areas as well as managing stakeholder relationships. He has a passion for rural communities and their development and this has helped him facilitate key partnerships between commercial farmers, developing farmers, agricultural students, and the private sector.

Misty Weyer has a background in occupational therapy, social entrepreneurship and small business development. With 15 years experience in the non-profit sector, she took on the part-time role of secretary at HGA in May 2022 and is responsible for the administrative tasks related to the operations of the organisation.