Polyfly in South Africa: consolidating our presence in one of the company’s key strategic markets
During the first half of September, the Polyfly team travelled to South Africa to continue developing one of the company’s strategic international markets. The trip combined commercial, technical and field work, with visits to different agricultural areas of the Western Cape — including the Garden Route region around George — and meetings with growers, technicians, agricultural companies and potential local partners.
Adapting the solution to South African agriculture
Polyfly arrives in South Africa as a pollination alternative already developed and commercially used in other international markets. The goal of this trip was to move forward with its introduction in the country and to understand first-hand how to integrate our solution into local agricultural needs and practices.
During our stay, we followed up in the field on the first hoverfly introductions carried out in the country, reviewed management protocols and worked directly with the professionals involved in their use. For Polyfly, this direct contact with the field is essential: every market has different agricultural, climate and production conditions, and our work consists of supporting growers and technicians to define the most suitable model in each case.
A technified, export-oriented market
The trip also allowed us to gain a deeper understanding of relevant agricultural sectors in the country, especially high-value crops such as berries, avocado, macadamia and seed production, and to better understand their pollination needs.
South Africa has a professional, highly technified agriculture strongly oriented towards export crops, with growing interest in adopting new tools that diversify the pollination options available. In this context, hoverflies represent an additional alternative for growers, which can be used either on their own or alongside other pollinators depending on the characteristics of each crop and operation.
Beyond the fieldwork, we held numerous meetings with companies and professionals in the sector to expand our local network and explore different collaboration models.
Two years of work in the country
This trip is part of the work Polyfly has been carrying out in South Africa for around two years, a period in which we have built relationships with different players in the sector and progressively increased our presence in the market.
Our internationalisation strategy is not simply about exporting a product: we aim to understand each market, work alongside its professionals and build solid, long-term business relationships. We come back from South Africa with new contacts, new opportunities and a much deeper understanding of the market and the next steps to keep growing our presence in the country — a new stage in Polyfly’s international expansion.