Crookes Brothers previously owned a 43 ha deciduous fruit farm in the Western Cape (South Africa) called Belleview. In 2012, it was sold by CBL to the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform as a land transformation project. In April 2017, after five years of government delays, CBL were approved as the strategic partner for the JV, and the Government released the recapitalisation funds for the operation.

CBL formed a JV company, Bellcro Farming, with ten former employees who own 55%. The JV partnership is for a period of five years. Belleview farm remains owned by Government and leased to Bellcro Farming. The board of Bellcro Farming comprises three previous employees, two CBL members and an independent member. The board meets quarterly to review and plan operations. All profits from the first two years are being invested back into the farm, with dividend pay-outs planned for year three.

Mawecro Farming is a joint venture between CBL and the Mawewe Community. It manages 1,550 ha of sugar cane, and 259 ha of bananas. Previously, CBL owned the farm, which was sold to the government in 2010, and leased back to CBL. This was converted to a 20-year JV with the Mawewe community in 2016.

Production at Mawecro has excelled due to careful management, and rotation between sugar cane and bananas that benefits both crops. Sugar cane yields are forecast at 115 t/ha this year, up from 91 t/ha during the drought two years ago. Drip irrigation is the most efficient irrigation system that increases yields from 80-100 t/ha to 120-125 t/ha. Over 50% of the farm is now under drip irrigation, which continues to be installed annually on replanted fields.

Mthayiza Farming, a joint venture between CBL and the Libuyile community, is a 1,200 ha irrigated sugar cane estate in South Africa that has been running for 11 years. Members of the Libuyile community were removed from the land in the 1970s to township areas, and the land was formally taken over by white farmers. After successfully lodging a land claim, the Libuyile community moved back onto the land in 2006. A lack of capital and experience constrained their ability to run the large commercial farm. The community advertised for investors, and in 2008 they chose to work with CBL.

When CBL was invited into the JV, the farm was run down and lossmaking, with yields as low as ~60 t/ha. CBL injected capital and experience, and with continued re-investment of profits, yields have improved to an average of 100 t/ha and up to 110-120 t/ha where drip irrigation has been installed.

CBL has maintained a strong focus on education, providing bursaries and investing in the next generation. Tsepo Sangwane is a community member who started working on the farm as a trainee in 2010. He became a Farm Manager in 2017 and has since been promoted to Senior Farm Manager.