Pioneer tomato farmer Bertie van Zyl is buried in Mooketsi

Bertie van Zyl (72), founder and owner of ZZ2, the biggest tomato growing operation in the country and one of the biggest in the world, was buried in Mooketsi, Limpopo. He had died the week previously in a Pretoria hospital. The funeral was attended by top government officials, amongst them Thoko Didiza, the minister of agriculture, Tito Mboweni, the Reserve Bank governor, Mbhazima Shilowa, the premier of Gauteng, MECs and farmers. Thousands of his farm workers also attended the service. Didiza said Van Zyl played a crucial role in the development of emerging farmers.