Agriculture & Agri-processing
• The province will host the International Mohair Conference
The eastern cape’s location and size give it considerable advantages when it comes to agriculture. The province encompasses all seven of South Africa’s biomes, which means that practically every kind of animal or crop can be farmed or cultivated on the province’s 169 580 square kilometres of land.
The Eastern Cape has more livestock than any other South African province, and produces a third of the country’s tea and a quarter of the nation’s milk. The wool-producing merino sheep and mohair-producing angora goats, which thrive in the interior, have been a vital part of the national economy since 1789 and 1838 respectively. In 2007/08, the financial return from wool sales in developing areas of the Eastern Cape doubled from R15-million to R30-million. Deciduous fruit (Langkloof), citrus fruit (Addo/Kirkwood) and chicory (Alexandria) continue to form important components of the province’s agricultural mix, but a feature of recent years has been the move to diversification in the sector.
Organic vegetables, sugar beet, exotic fruit, tomatoes and essential oils are all being cultivated in greater quantities than before, and they are expected to form the basis of processing facilities. The same is true of cattle, pigs and poultry, where the ‘Transkei Organic’ brand is being developed to distinguish meat produced in an open grazing environment. Olive trees are being planted in growing numbers, with a nursery at the University of Fort Hare leading the way. Da Gama Textiles and the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) are encouraging cotton planting.
Ostriches are doing well in parts of the province, and the introduction of alpacas, native to the mountainous regions of South America, has been very successful. Alpacas not only have very fine wool (which was selling in 2004 for 12 times the price of sheep wool), they apparently also serve as excellent protectors of sheep. According to the University of the Free State’s Centre for Development Support, farmers in the Graaff-Reinet district have fewer losses to predators because the alpacas live with sheep. Sixty alpacas were introduced to South Africa in 2000 and the South African Alpaca Breeders’ Society was launched in 2007.
Land-usage patterns have changed in recent years as well. Parts of the Amathole and Cacadu districts that used to be sheep or pineapple farms are now stocked with game and geared towards the hunting and tourist markets. There is some debate about whether or not this trend is a good thing, but there is no doubt that it has led to major economic and social changes.
The agricultural sector employs about 70 000 people on commercial farms, with a further 436 000 dependent on smaller farms, mostly in the parts of the province that used to be called Ciskei and Transkei, the two apartheidera homelands. Improving the agricultural yield of the eastern half of the province is seen as a necessity for improving food security and getting many thousands of people out of the poverty trap.
Government plans
The Eastern Cape Provincial Government noted in 2009 that the province’s agricultural sector only expanded in terms of gross value added, from R1.7-billion to R1.8-billion in the period 1995 to 2007. The province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has since set about improving matters. The department’s budget allocation for 2009/10 showed a 13.3% increase, to R1.4-billion. Items of interest include the R30-million allocation in support of Magwa and Majola tea estates, R52-million for an ethanoldevelopment project in Cradock, and an amount of R5.35-million set aside for the hosting, in the Cacadu district, of the International Mohair Conference in late 2009.
The government-supported Siyazondla Programme encourages the cultivation of community food gardens as part of a comprehensive nutrition programme.
Three training centres focus on agriculture in the province: Fort Cox College of Agriculture and Forestry, Mpofu Training Centre (teaching mostly small-stock management), and the Tsolo Agricultural and Rural Development Institute, which will develop stronger ties with Walter Sisulu University in the Eastern Cape. The Dohne Agricultural Research Institute, near Stutterheim, developed a new breed of sheep, the Dohne merino.
An ambitious plan to support human development over a large area is contained in plans for the Umzimvubu Development Zone. This long-term project includes a watermanagement and irrigation scheme known as the Umzimvubu Water Basin Management and Development Programme. The idea is to tap the Umziumvubu River for irrigation and hydroelectric purposes. To this end, a dam will be constructed and supporting infrastructure in the way of manufacturing facilities built downstream. New lands will be planted with crops for food and biofuel, and the growing towns of Mthatha, Port St Johns and Lusikisiki should receive enough water to cope with demand.
Emerging farmers
When Bongiwe Kali won the award of National Female Farmer of the Year in 2008, she could not have imagined that a year later she and her village, Ngqamakhwe, would be the recipients of facilities worth R5-million. Impressed by Kali’s operation, the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) allocated an amount of R3-million to her for the construction of a modern poultry hatchery, secure in the knowledge that the farmer – who was producing about 1 500 chickens a week – already possessed the know-how and determination to succeed in the venture. DARD also committed to constructing an abattoir in the village that would not only create employment but hopefully stimulate further production.
The town of Alice is best known as the host of the University of Fort Hare. However, Alice is also the centre of fertile dairy-cattle country. An innovative scheme is running on a farm outside the town, whereby a group of successful commercial farmers is mentoring black farm workers to become successful farm managers and owners. The rationale behind the programme is that, for land reform to be successful, black people have to be equipped with the skills to manage farms.
As part of the scheme, a company called Amadlelo Agri (representing 70 white farmers) entered into a partnership with 600 workers from their 70 farms and an empowerment group called Vuwa Investments to create Fort Hare Dairy Trust. The University of Fort Hare donated R2-million and a piece of land to the project, and the Land and Agricultural Development Bank of South Africa helped to finance it.
Work began in 2007, and today the farm produces 10 000 litres of milk per day, most of which is bought by Clover. The maize to feed the cattle is sourced from farms in the Alice district. The Fort Hare Dairy Trust is providing dividends for the 600 farm workers and acts as a training centre for young agricultural graduates. Trainees are rewarded with cattle for good performance, and in this way they can start to build up their own herd of dairy-producing cattle.
Livestock
Livestock farming is the largest agricultural subsector in South Africa. The Eastern Cape has 21% of the country’s cattle, 28% of its sheep and 46% of its goats, making it the largest livestock province by some way.
South Africa produced more than half the world’s output of 5.6 million kilograms of mohair in 2007. Most of the country’s 900 angora goat farmers are in the Eastern Cape, centred around Graaff-Reinet and Jansenville, the towns that jointly hosted the first International Mohair Summit in 2009. The rich natural grasslands have the potential to produce high-value organic meat, a product that is proving increasingly popular in health-conscious international markets. These niche meat products are leaner, healthier and often tastier than mass-produced alternatives. High-value meat cuts such as these will drastically increase exports out of the Eastern Cape.
Dairy
The Eastern Cape provides approximately a quarter of South Africa’s milk, and the industry is further expanding as producers tend to favour high-rainfall coastal areas such as the Eastern Cape. The province’s farmers mostly sell raw milk to three major processors: Parmalat, Clover and Dairybelle. With the growth of the dairy subsector in recent years, a few independent processors have emerged. Small-scale dairy farming presents an opportunity to develop the industry in the former homeland areas, especially in a range of previously untapped products such as milk powder, speciality cheeses and long-life milk.
Crops
The Eastern Cape is South Africa’s second-largest producer of citrus fruit. Oranges make up the vast majority (80%) of citrus product, but the province is also well regarded for its production of ‘easy-peelers’ such as clementine and satsuma tangerines, as well as naval oranges. Citrus farming is one of the province’s priority subsectors for agri-processing and value-adding. Deciduous fruits such as apples, pears and apricots are grown extensively in the province, primarily in the Langkloof Valley.
The previously buoyant pineapple sector was virtually wiped out in 2007 when it was discovered that a fertiliser being widely used contained an unacceptably high level of cadmium. This led to all South African pineapple products losing their European Union certification. The Chinese fertiliser had been imported to South Africa in bulk.
Although tinned pineapples on South African shelves are now more likely to be from Swaziland, a pineapple manufacturer in East London, Summerpride Foods, has found a way to thrive. The company now focuses on producing concentrate. By packaging the product in 30-tonne batches, and not in small tins as was the case for chunks and rings, it is easy to test for cadmium. The factory receives about 93 000 tonnes of raw pineapples from 30 farms.
South Africa is the second-largest producer of chicory in the world. Chicory is grown primarily in the coastal areas around Alexandria between Port Elizabeth and Port Alfred. A drying plant has been established there and the dried chicory produced is sold to coffee manufacturers nationwide for local consumption. Sugar is grown on the northern border of the province, in North Pondoland.
An opportunity for diversification in crop production exists with the aloe ferox plant, which is indigenous to the Eastern Cape. Like aloe vera, which is in demand worldwide in cosmetic and health products, aloe ferox is used for skin care and various medical ailments.
Food processing
Agri-processing has the potential to be labourintensive and therefore create and sustain employment in rural communities. Opportunities in food processing in the Eastern Cape, as identified by the ECDC, include citrus and deciduous fruits, dried tomatoes and tomato paste, exotic fruits and vegetable, organic produce, purees and jams, vegetable canning and small-scale processing of various products in rural communities.
ONLINE RESOURCES
Agricultural Research Council: www.arc.agric.za
Agri Eastern Cape: www.agriok.co.za
Agri South Africa: www.agrisa.co.za
Arid Areas Programme: www.aridareas.co.za
Citrus Growers Association: www.cga.co.za
Deciduous Fruit Producers Trust: www.dfpt.co.za
Eastern Cape Department of Agriculture and Rural Development: www.agr.ecprov.gov.za
Mohair South Africa: www.mohair.co.za
National Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries: www.doa.agric.za
Organic Agricultural Association of South Africa: www.organicsouthafrica.co.za
Perishable Products Export Control Board: www.ppecb.com
