agrinews maart 2007 - Natural Resources Institute

March 2007March 2007March 2007March 2007March 2007

O F F I C I A L N E W S L E T T E R O F T H E D E PT H E D E PT H E D E PT H E D E PT H E D E PA R T M E N T O F AA R T M E N T O F AA R T M E N T O F AA R T M E N T O F AA R T M E N T O F A G R I C U LG R I C U LG R I C U LG R I C U LG R I C U LT U R ET U R ET U R ET U R ET U R E

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A U n i t e d & P r o s p e r o u s A g r i c u l t u r a l S e c t o rA U n i t e d & P r o s p e r o u s A g r i c u l t u r a l S e c t o rA U n i t e d & P r o s p e r o u s A g r i c u l t u r a l S e c t o rA U n i t e d & P r o s p e r o u s A g r i c u l t u r a l S e c t o rA U n i t e d & P r o s p e r o u s A g r i c u l t u r a l S e c t o r

Departmental Departmental Departmental Departmental Departmental NEWS

Drought a threatDrought a threatDrought a threatDrought a threatDrought a threat

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Cultivar demonstrationCultivar demonstrationCultivar demonstrationCultivar demonstrationCultivar demonstrationdaysdaysdaysdaysdays

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Also in this issue:Also in this issue:Also in this issue:Also in this issue:Also in this issue:

Land rightsLand rightsLand rightsLand rightsLand rights

8Plant a treePlant a treePlant a treePlant a treePlant a tree

Agricultural MarketingAgricultural MarketingAgricultural MarketingAgricultural MarketingAgricultural MarketingInformation SystemInformation SystemInformation SystemInformation SystemInformation System

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9RRRRRodent controlodent controlodent controlodent controlodent control

Departmental Departmental Departmental Departmental Departmental NEWS

Sector Sector Sector Sector Sector NEWS

FFFFFarming arming arming arming arming NEWS


The showcasing of AgriBEE in the Free StateProvince marked another achievement inthe efforts of the Department of

Agriculture to transform the agricultural sector.At the Gala dinner Ms Lulu Xingwana, Ministerfor Agriculture and Land Affairs, brought theaudience into the loop of what is happeningwith regard to the AgriBEE Charterdevelopment process and finalisation.

In May last year the Minister received theCharter and the two indicative scorecards, onefor large enterprises and the other for smallenterprises. To ensure that the Charter iscompliant and that it presents a balancedapproach for mutual results for the diversesector, consultations with the Department ofTrade and Industry were held.

The Department of Agriculture has to seethat the sector pulls in the same direction andaddress issues that will transform and improvethe sector in a stable manner. Therefore Black

Economic Empowerment as a businessimperative will grow the economy into acompetitive one, while ensuring long-termsocio-economic stability.

The AgriBEE showcasing event wasrecommended in the AgriBEE referencedocument. As the process moves forward thisevent will rotate to all provinces to createawareness and to recognise specific provincialinitiatives.

Objectives for the showcasing event wereto:ï Showcase good practices or success storiesfor setting standards and benchmarks for futureefforts,ï Alert on challenges and pitfalls which otherinitiatives should avoid or address,ï Create awareness and encourage variousstakeholders to participate in initiating andsupporting Broad-based Black EconomicEmpowerment projects and to ensure that

AgriBEE showcasingin Free State

By Mercia Smith

Ms Lulu Xingwana,Minister for Agricultureand Land Affairs and MsPriscilla Sehoole, ChiefCommunications Officer atthe Department ofAgriculture.

to p 2


A UNITED & PROSPEROUS UNITED & PROSPEROUS UNITED & PROSPEROUS UNITED & PROSPEROUS UNITED & PROSPEROUS AGRICULTURAL SECTORMarch 2007 AgriNNNNNEWSEWSEWSEWSEWS No. 3 No. 3 No. 3 No. 3 No. 322222

Chief EditorChief EditorChief EditorChief EditorChief Editor David Tshabalala (012) 319 7337 [email protected] Tumi Taunyane (012) 319 6623 [email protected] Tshidi Baloyi (012) 319 7929 [email protected]

Innocent Mhlanga (012) 319 7827 [email protected] Mulaudzi (012) 319 6622 [email protected] Nortier (012) 319 6619 [email protected]

Design Mercia Smith (012) 319 6666 [email protected] Justin Kennerley (012) 319 7089 [email protected]

Lizé-Marie Maritz (012) 319 7872 lizé[email protected] Mathebula (012) 319 6654 [email protected] Mmushi (012) 319 6986 [email protected] Moropa (012) 319 7224 [email protected] Seloane (012) 319 6654 [email protected]

SubeditorSubeditorSubeditorSubeditorSubeditor Willie de Jager (012) 319 6636DistributionDistributionDistributionDistributionDistribution Pam Sutherland (012) 319 7104 Fax (012) 326 2817

AgriNews is the newsletter of the Department ofAgriculture, Private Bag X250, PRETORIA 0001.It is published by the Directorate AgriculturalInformation Services, Private Bag X144, PRETORIA0001.Reports in this publication may be used freely, butshould be accredited to AgriNews.

What do you get when amanagement team promotesempowerment of farmworkers

in a venture that creates job security, jobcreation, a carefree retirement andfinancially secure career?

The answer to the question lies in thename: Keboes Fruit Farms. Their mainsource of income is from exportingvarious table grape cultivars to differentmarkets in England and the rest ofEurope. They have their own exportcompany named New Vision Fruit,situated in the Northern suburbs of CapeTown.

New Vision Fruit does all the marketingand is directly responsible for the logisticsinvolved in ensuring that the grapes reachtheir destination safely and on time. Theyalso link up between the different foreigntarget markets. Some of the grapesproduced are destined for the localmarket, wine distillers and others for raisinproduction.

Keboes’ contributions to BEE includepreschool care, medical care, providentfund, religious care and housing,amongst others. These are benefits thatare available for workers and theirfamilies. Workers participate actively inthe economic success of their farms anddecision making at the highest level isvery important to them.

For some time, Keboes has embracedemployment equity and the plans aresubmitted to the Department of Labouras required. The company is focused ongood corporate cit izenship and

empowerment. Central to this focus is thedesire to be part of creating economicstability and growth within South Africa.They have been in the Fair TradeFoundation where commission is earnedand reinvested in rural communities in theNorthern Cape and North West provinces.The company also holds an Investors inPeople Accreditation Certificate, that is inhigh demand.

Keboes Fruit Farms are a joint venturebetween Karsten Farms, Labour (IDC) andthe Black Management Investment Forum(BMIF). Raap en Skraap was founded in1997 as part of the Karsten Group, andlater registered and transferred as KeboesFruit Farms (Pty) Ltd.

It has one of the largest packing shedsfor table grapes in the world, which servesas the packing and distribution centre.

Keboes Fruit Farms is a registeredcompany and the farm consists ofapproximately 400 ha of table grapes,melons, sweet melons, a date productionunit as well as a new Hoodia plant project.On average the company employs about950 seasonal workers annually, of these80 employees are permanent with 18salaried staff members. Production unitsvary between 850 00 and 950 000cartons of grapes each year, both exportand local, with a total turnover ofapproximately R45 million.

The management wants to create trustand security in the company to createsomething visible for our people to theextent where they can create their ownfuture by contributing to their own well-being, the company, province andcountry.

empowerment efforts are recognised bythose involved in the sector.

Init iatives were showcased inBloemfontein in the form of a workshopand exhibitions. The workshop broughttogether experts, farmers, agribusinesses,practitioners, specialists, fieldworkers,officials and other role players who wereable to share their experiences andknowledge.

Exhibitors from industries, projects,Government, financial institutions andothers increased awareness regardinggoods and services rendered within thesector.

Ms Xingwana urged businesses andorganisations to seize opportunities forpartnerships towards shared responsibility,growth and wealth creation in the sector.

Keboes a success withAgriBEEBy Keitumetse Mmushi

Ms Beatrice Marshoff, Premier ofFree State Province at the AgriBEEshowcasing in Bloemfontein.

from p 1

AgriBEEshowcasing

No. 3 No. 3 No. 3 No. 3 No. 3 AgriNNNNNEWSEWSEWSEWSEWS March 2007A UNITED & PROSPEROUS UNITED & PROSPEROUS UNITED & PROSPEROUS UNITED & PROSPEROUS UNITED & PROSPEROUS AGRICULTURAL SECTOR 33333

Drought originates fromprecipitation deficiency,resulting in water shortage for

some activities such as plant growth orwater for livestock and grazing. It is anatural hazard that differs from otherhazards in that it has a slow onset andevolves over several months or years. Itis also not easy to determine itscessation.

Crop farmers are predicting that thisseason’s yield will be 28 % smaller thanlast year’s as excessively hot and dryweather conditions take their toll onplantings. This is according the farmers’union TAU SA, which conducted aninternal survey showing that grainfarmers in certain areas had alreadysuffered losses of up to 50 % of theirestimated crop yield.

The Directorate Agricultural DisasterManagement (ADM) said that earlywarning National AgrometeorologicalCommit tee (NAC) Advisor ies ofpossible drought conditions in thecountry were issued from as early asSeptember last year, to alert farmersof the impending crisis. Mr. ShumaniMugeri, head of the Early WarningUnit, said that the country has been inthe grip of a drought since the end ofthe excessive rains of the 1999 to2000 rainfall season. “A spike ofbumper rains during the latter part ofthe 2005 to 2006 summer rainfallseason was followed by the currentpoor agricultural season where mainlydry and very hot with rather humidconditions prevailed over thenortheastern extremes, although some

rains fell in the south-east during the lastcouple of weeks”, he said.

Drought is no doubt a disaster that hasrocked the agricultural sector in thecountry. There are further economiccomplications. This may affect the grossdomestic product (GDP) of the country,as agriculture is one of the contributorsto the GDP. Mr Mawethu Sonkosi of Post-disaster Recovery and Rehabilitation saidthey are preparing to undertake visits toareas which show vulnerability to droughtas one of the initial steps of Governmentintervention. The Directorate ADM isgiving attention to drought mapping andadaptation strategies to assist farmers incoping with this situation.

Drought has largely affected areasin Limpopo, where drought-relatedlivestock mortalities have so far beenreported. Almost all the provinces in thesummer rainfall regions of the countryhave been affected. In the EasternCape, where a transient shower wasrecorded, crops are also starting tosuccumb to the severe heat. Mawethusaid that the department is working onlong-term intervention and strategicplans to assist farmers. He stated thatthe most devastating condition aboutdrought is that if it persists it can easilyoverlap to the neighbouring provinces.

Even though early warnings andmonthly NAC Advisories are forwardedto the provincial departments ofagriculture, it is not clear if the informationis reaching the intended audience, in thiscase, the farmers. Mr Molatelo Mamadiof Information, Policy andImplementation, said that technology

transfer officers, at provincial level, failto communicate these warnings to allthe farmers, which often createsloopholes in the early warning system.

He said that they recognise theproblem and are working on a probablesolution that would ease the situation.“Our main focus is to develop a policyframework for disaster riskmanagement. Therefore informationdissemination becomes the prime factorin making sure the information sent outreaches the desired audience,” hecontinued. Information disseminatedincludes plans on mitigation, adaptationand preparedness, should the actualdisaster strike. He added that theyconduct feedback visits, which revealedthat most of the information sent tofarmers is not received as intended.

The directorate also deals with othercritical disasters such as floods, whichsoaked the Western Cape and theEastern Cape provinces last August andveld fires which are induced by dry andwindy conditions.

Mr Matiga Motsepe, the agro-meteorologist from Early Warning andClimate Change said they recognise theproblem of climate change and thatefforts are being made on a global scaleto curb the situation. As droughtcontinues to deplete most of the countryof moisture, one can only hope for goodrains to alleviate the situation, which iscurrently a far cry as the rainfall andtemperature predictions for theremainder of summer are hinting at thepersistence of dry and very hotconditions.

Drought poses a seriousthreat to farmers

Drought is no doubt a disaster that has rocked theDrought is no doubt a disaster that has rocked theDrought is no doubt a disaster that has rocked theDrought is no doubt a disaster that has rocked theDrought is no doubt a disaster that has rocked theagricultural sector in the countryagricultural sector in the countryagricultural sector in the countryagricultural sector in the countryagricultural sector in the country.....


Farmers from all over South Africagathered at the CSIR InternationalConvention Centre in Pretoria for

the launch of the Agricultural MarketingInformation System (AMIS) on 02 March2007.

For a considerable time developingfarmers have been facing the challengeof accessing agricultural information. Inorder to combat this problem theDepartment of Agriculture has establishedthe web-based AMIS. “To all the farmerswho are here today, this is an interventionintended to assist you to becomeknowledgeable, competit ive andprofitable in the agriculturalmarketplace,” said the Minister forAgriculture and Land Affairs, Ms LuluXingwana.

The system will enable these farmersand traders to make informed decisionsabout selecting crops to grow, when toharvest, to which markets the produceshould be sent and whether or not tostore. The department has already trained12 provincial staff members on the useof the system.

The web-based system will becomplemented by other technologiessuch as the cellphone, in the near future,to ensure maximum access by all. Thiswill allow users of the system to easilydownload the information they require ontheir mobile phones.

During the launch the Director ofMarketing, Billy Morokolo, gave a briefdemonstration of how to use the AMISwebsite. To broaden the information basethe system is hyperlinked to more than60 other domestic and internationalsources of market information on fieldcrops, l ivestock and horticulturalindustries.

“There will never be any growth,prosperity and competit iveness inagriculture if this link betweenproduction and commercialisation of

agricultural products is compromised,”said Xingwana. The Minister thereforecalled on all private sector suppliers ofinformation to come forward and assistthe department to continuously improveon what it has started.

According to Liako Moahloli, theActing Chief Director for Trade andBusiness Development, the system is a bigstep in ensuring that farmers are informedtimeously to enable them to planeffectively.

On behalf of the farmers, IngridDitsebe, a farmer from Randfontein,stated “As farmers we will be able toaccess this information that has beenmissing. It will help farmers to plan andwe hope it will reach farmers in the ruralareas”. Bigman Maloa, a provincial Headof the Department, said the system willonly work if it offers relevant, timeous,accurate and consistent information.

By Tshidi Baloyi

New technology to assistfarmers

The system offers the following typesof information:ï Daily price information on the qualities

and quantities sold in the fresh producemarket.

ï Fresh produce market relatedinformation, including market fees andmarket agents.

ï Information on fresh produce facilitiesand services available to the farmerswith regard to storage andwarehousing, cold storage, gradingand repacking, etc.

ï Commodity profiles and market relatedreports.

ï Information on grading standards andproduct quality specifications.

ï Hyperlinks to other information anddata suppliers.The system can be accessed on:http://www.agis.agric.za/mis

This is an intervention intended to assist you to become knowledgeable,competitive and profitable in the agricultural marketplace.

Photo by Justin Kennerley


The newly appointed land claimscommissioner for Gauteng enNorth West, Ms Tumi Seboka,

recently shared her goals and views at anetworking function in Pretoria.

Ms Seboka reiterated that her goal isto settle all outstanding land claims andthis must be achieved and met by March2008 for the Gauteng and North Westprovinces. This forms part of the biggertarget of the commission nationally. Inher view these settlements must bedesigned and implemented in a mannerthat will contribute to the sustainable,social and economic development off allbeneficiaries. The restitution of land rightsmust contribute to growth and equity andreconciliation. These objectives can onlybe met if the commission joined handacross the spectrum with organisedagriculture, land right activists,community groups and organisations,other departments as well as with nationalto local government to ensure all maketheir contributions towards totalcommitment.

Faced with meeting the target of legalsettlement the quality part of the processcannot be ignored in the process ofsettling legal aspects land claims. Landrights and restitution must contribute tojob creation and poverty alleviation. Thiscan in her view not be done alone, onesector show, and the differentstakeholders must take hands in

alignment aimed at a comprehensive andcoordinated settlement support forsuccessful restitution of all land claimants.

Ms Seboka announced that thecommission is well on track, with almostall of the urban claims for the Gautengand North West provinces being finalised.Only rural claims are remaining to befinalised. A total of 11 975 rural claimswere received and 11 956 have beenfinalised, which leaves only 19 ruralclaims to settle until March 2008. In NorthWest Province there are only 80outstanding rural claims. A staggeringtotal of 1 819 rural claims were settled.This performance is an achievementtowards realising the commission’shistorical goals of empowering thepeople.

Challenges facing theCommission

The remarkable progress in theimplementation of land restitution waseven alluded to by Thabo Mbeki in hisState of the Nation Address. However, thecommission has to overcome certaincomplexities. These complexities do notonly revolve around personnel shortagesbut, amongst others, include unintendedconsideration of land needs for farmdwellers and workers, challenges relatingto conflict and disputes resulting from theformation of legal entities in existingtraditional authorities.

By Cilie Nortier

Land rights a living legacyThe commission also had to deal with

the consequences of informal settlementon restored land and introducingclaimants into new businesses of whichthey have no knowledge or are notinterested in. This calls for capacitybuilding until those claimants are readyto deal with the responsibilities thataccompany the new project that wastransferred to them as a result ofrestitution.

Another complexity is the monopolyof projects by opportunistic members ofclaimants. People emerged looking atmaximising benefits for themselves asopposed to sharing in the collectivebenefits of the entire group as theclaimant. The final complexity is theproblem of untraceable claimants. Thiscreates delays in settling the claim. Theimplementation cannot be completebecause claimants cannot be traced.

The history of land restitution is veryimportant for the commission andtherefore they have decided to establisha memorial site in all nine provinces. Thiswill serve as a form of remembrance andhonour to those who have died duringlodgement and dispossessing of land andfor those who have obtained landthrough the restitution process.

“Land rights, a living legacy” is theslogan of the commission and it wantsto keep this legacy alive for the nextgeneration.


This year’s Agricultural ResearchCouncil’s (ARC) cultivardemonstration day took place in two

provinces respectively on 28 February and09 March, at the ARC-Grain CropsInstitute in Potchefstroom North West andthe Lowveld research unit in Mpumalanga.The sun was scorching hot in bothprovinces and it was not easy to tour theentire trial site but the few places visitedwere very informative to farmers,emerging farmers, researchers and otheragricultural stakeholders because it gavethem information that will enable them todeliver good products and even asatisfactory income. With everydemonstrator trying to stick to the contentof the presentation, backgroundinformation such as the history,requirements, characteristics, benefits,future and the programme for 2006/07was provided to assist everyone inunderstanding the full purpose of thiscultivar day.

The first topic was dry beans, presentedby Dr Andries Liebenberg. In hispresentation he said dry beans are avaluable cash crop in rotation with maizeand can increase maize yields on averageby 10 % and the beans have the potentialof adapting in the North West Provinceon deep soils on residual moisture.Planted early in January to escape hightemperatures during flowering, the

common bean is well adapted to deep-drained soils in the cool high-rainfallareas of Mpumalanga and the EasternFree State. With the present estimatedproduction in South Africa atapproximately half the consumption, andbeans having to be imported every year,it is one of the profitable crops and owingto a shortage on the world market, highprices of between R5 000 and R5 500per ton are presently being achieved.

The national cultivar trials are animportant dry beans project; thedemonstration that is planted for theinvitation day contains the 25 cultivars(small white, red speckled, sugar andcarioca) which are in this year’s trial.There is also an advanced RSS breedingline with resistance to common blight anda large white kidney bean cultivar, ofwhich the main aim is to demonstrate thewell-known as well as newly releasedcultivars of dry bean seed.

Some of the entries have been infectedwith common bacterial blight (CBB) todemonstrate the level of resistance thathas been obtained in the two resistantentries by means of breeding. Cultivarsdiffer with respect to their yields, lengthof growing season, growth habit, size andcanning quality.

The Cowpea and Bambara GroundnutImprovement Programme was the nextdemonstration, by Dr Josehp Asiwe as the

project leader. She said that thisprogramme commenced two years ago,to breed for high, stable yield, differentmaturity groups as well as biotic stressresistance. This being a relatively newbreeding programme, the ARC-GCIembarked on intensive evaluation andselection of germ plasm accessionsintroduced from IITA and other nationalagricultural programmes in order to meetthe immediate needs of farmers and teampopulation while awaiting thedevelopment of new varieties arising fromthe systematic hybridisation andimprovement of germ plasm accessions.Several promising cowpea and bambaravarieties with good agronomic traits suchas high grain yield, dual-purpose andfodder types, pest resistance, and goodnutritional qualities have been identified.This has been the result of intensiveevaluation and selection.

Nemera G. Shargie, the sorghum/pearlmillet breeding presenter/demonstrator,said in order to improve sorghum/pearlmillet performance in a cropping systemnew technology packages encompassingall aspects of production are needed. Inorder to produce sufficient food,Smallholder farmers have to plantvarieties/landraces that are adapted tostressful local conditions; they are low ingrain yield and often non-susceptible to

Cultivardemonstrationdays informative

to p 7

By Innocent Mhlanga


pests and diseases. The ARC-GCISorghum-breeding Programme conductsbroad-based research to identify,characterise, evaluate and utilise thenatural diversity of sorghum/pearl milletto develop open-pollinated varieties(OPVs) with improved traits. These traitscan be abiotic (drought) and biotic (insectsand diseases) stress resistance, wideadaptation, yield, weathering resistanceand grain quality.

Sweet sorghums are used for fodder(silage), syrup, vegetable and mainly forbioenergy production. This crop isadapted to all types of soils, but prefersheavy soils with a high clay content, warmtemperatures, 400 to 600 mm of rain.Planting is from mid-October to mid-December. Benefits of this crop are thesocial, environmental and economicreturns on investment, making it a viablecrop.

Commercially available maize andsorghum cultivars, submitted by variousseed companies, have been evaluatedunder varying environmental conditions.Analysis of variance and stability analysis

are used in these trials. The results arepublished in annual and multiseasonalreports as well as on the ARC website.

Cultivar trials can never stop simplybecause any plants, and specificallydomesticated crop plants, interact withtheir environment. The outcome of theinteraction is varying yield on differentfarms. In the case of groundnuts, theoutcome is even more complex asenvironment plays a major role indetermining the quality of the crop. Thecultivar evaluation places specialemphasis on oleic acid that results inlonger shelf life, better nutritionalcomposition that assists South Africangroundnut farmers to compete better onforeign markets. This enhances diversegroundnut usage owing to the superiorquality of oil in the nut which becomespart of “health oils” on the market.

Maize is by far the most important cropgrown by smallholder farmers as it is astaple crop and mainstay of rural diets aswell as a cash crop. Most of thesmallholder farmers are resource-poor,struggling to buy hybrid seed, fertilisers

and other inputs. As are result, they growmostly landraces and recycled seed ofunknown origin under very low levels ofmanagement, and their yields are verylow. The ARC-Grain Crops Institute jointlywith CIMMYT-Zimbabwe is developingOPVs as an alternative to hybrids. Thesevarieties perform well and are acceptedby farmers, as some of them have beenadopted by farmers in the Limpopo andMpumalanga provinces, andcommunities are growing certified seedwith the assistance of the ARC-GCI.

Mr Francis Chegombo, who is anextension officer in the Hazyview/WhiteRiver area, presented the cassava(Manihot esculenta (mjumbula)) cultivar.He said they are being described as thefamine reserve crop because of theadvantanges: drought tolerance, easypropagation, recovery from locustdamage, low input requirement, high yield(calorie/unit area), etc. Because it canproduce more carbohydrates per ha thanany other food staple, it is best whenplanted on ridges, mounted or flat,because it is easier to harvest whenplanted on ridges/mounds. Cuttings of20 to 30 cm lengths are taken fromhealthy plants and planted vertically, atan angle or flat in a 10 to15 cm optimaldepth. The vertical plantings, however, willrequire or prefer light soil. Higher yieldscan be obtained when plantings are madeas early as possible soon after thetemperature rises in September andNovember in a 70 to 100 cm spacingbetween rows and plants.

The estimated yield on dryland can be9 to15+/ha on farmers’ fields, 25 to45+/ha on research plots and 60 to80+/ha under irrigation.

Although it is an easy cultivar, majorproblems can be encountered by the smallfarmer, such as lack of improved varieties,poor agronomic practices followed,African cassava mosaic virus, mealy bugsand a long growing season of 12 to 24months.

Cultivardemonstrationfrom p 6


There is so much carbon dioxidebuilding up in the atmosphere thatnatural systems can no longer

recycle it all. Therefore, residents ofMabopane in the North West held a treeplanting ceremony at the BotshabeloRecreational Park on 28 February 2007.

The ceremony was organised by theTotal Facilities Management Company(TFMC). The company’s contribution,together with the assistance of theDepartment of Agriculture, the TshwaneMunicipality and the Department of WaterAffairs and Forestry, resulted in 450 treesbeing distributed to residents.

This initiative was sparked by the currentglobal concern about climate change.According to research planting a treeremains one of the most effective ways ofoffsetting carbon emissions. The residentsof Botshabelo were urged to plant treesto assist in curbing carbon dioxidepollution.

Botshabelo Recreational Park is an RDPresidential area that consists of stands ofreasonable size, with sanitation facilitiesand access to clean water. However,because of the lack of trees no shelter isavailable from the sun and dust in the hotand dry area.

“A house is not a home without a tree,”said Siyabulela Morris of Food and Treesfor Africa (FTFA). Sego Motubatsi of TFMCappealed to the women of the communityto take responsibility and take care of thetrees. The company raised R23 000during a Golf Day in October 2006,which was held by TFMC to buy anddonate the trees.

During the event 18 members of thecommunity received certificates forattending the TFMC Trees for HomesWorkshop for Community-basedEducation. The workshop was held toeducate the people concerning theplanting and maintenance of trees. Theywill be able to use this knowledge in theircommunity and also share it with the restof the community.

The Trees for Homes Programme is an

innovative public greening initiative thatcontributes nationally to improve thequality of l i fe and theenvironment, and addressclimate change.

In addition to reducingcarbon dioxide, one of themajor greenhouse gases and aprimary contributor to climatechange, the trees will be usefulto improve water, energy, soiland noise management, foodsecurity (fruit and nut trees),enrich lives and create healthierand more sustainablecommunities. At the end of theceremony a fruit tree wasplanted in the yard of one of theRDP houses near the park.

Save our atmosphereplant a tree By Tshidi Baloyi

Mr Siyabulela Marvis fromFood and Trees for Africaplanting a tree.


On the surface, they are fast littlehairy creatures and appear tobe harmless but, in reality they

wreak havoc everywhere they pass.In terms of population growth, rodents

are the most successful mammal groupnext to humans. It’s no wonder then thatthey are so troublesome for farmers.Although many farmers understand theextent of problems caused by rodents,such as damage to field crops, stored andpersonal possessions, awareness aboutthe level of damage is oftenunderestimated.

People need to be provided with the truecost of sharing living space with rodents, inorder to consider how much they can invest,in terms of traps, poisons and labour incontrolling rodents. Such information canbe disseminated by showing correct levelsof loss and contamination as well as risk ofdiseases. An aspect often overlooked is thatthey transmit many diseases, and most ofthe time the symptoms are confused withthat of other diseases where awareness ishigher, such as malaria.

It has become apparent that studyingthose ecology and biology of rodent pestscan lead to significant improvements inthe way the pests are managed. Rodentmanagement that is ecologically-basedis seen as more sustainable, botheconomically and environmentally, thanthe traditional use of acute poisons.

A new agricultural research project hasbeen initiated in South Africa. It aims todevelop ecologically-based rodentmanagement for the Southern Africanregion. The development ofEcological ly-Based RodentManagement for the Southern AfricanRegion project (ECORAT) is coordinatedby scientists at the Natural ResourcesInstitute (NRI) of the University ofGreenwich in the UK and involvesorganisations from Swaziland, Tanzania,Namibia as well as rodent experts fromDurban’s Natural Science Museum andthe Agricultural Research Council PlantProtection Research Institute.

The ECORAT project started with aninception workshop at the University ofGreenwich in January 2007. Scientistsfrom Swaziland, Namibia, Tanzania andSouth Africa were there to discuss and planactivities. At the meeting, Dr StevenBelmain of the NRI and ECORAT projectleader said, “Both developed anddeveloping countries continue to facegrowing rodent pest problems, and wehave high expectations that the ECORATproject will help to reduce rodent pestproblems for those most affected by them.

The current rodent control practicesinvolve the use of rodenticides, but theirpoor application and adaptation to local

New leap to rodentcontrol

situations often results in treatmentfailures, leading to acceptance of rodentpests in the environment. Misuse causeshealth as well as environmental problemsto both humans and animals and may noteven reduce the rodent population,therefore having little impact on reducingthe damage they cause. Other rodentmanagement methods involving trappingand environmental management can bemore appropriate for the rural agriculturalinstitutions in Africa.

In the coming three years, the ECORATproject will be sponsored by the EUthrough the SADC’s agricultural researchand training initiative.

By Keitumetse Mmushi

SAPPO’s training manual for emerging producerswill be available from the SAPPO offices inPretoria by the end of February.

The comprehensive manual deals withvarious production matters such as breeding,feeding, housing, management, diseases, biosecurity,marketing, transport and slaughtering. It is richly illustrated withfull-colour photographs. The manual was compiled by twoveterinarians, Dr Jim Robinson and Dr Mary-Louise Penrith. Bothhave an extensive knowledge of pig production. The manual willsoon be launched to the media. The 72-page manual costs R30(VAT included) and can be ordered from Sally Bosman at tel. no.(0120 351 3920.)

Manual availablefrom SAPPO


Grootfontein College ofAgriculture hopes to improvethe farming industry through a

short training course to farmworkers andfarmers.

College principal, Strydom Schoon-raad, said they decided to offer such aunique service to farmworkers becausefarmers were unable to train their workersbecause of a lack of money. They spendmore on wages and salaries every month.

This was initiated recently afterrealising that other farmworkers still needsome nurturing in terms of farming skills.The service to farmers is offered througha mobile unit, whereby farmers are taughton their respective farms.

“Our aim through this programme isto equip farmworkers with proper training.The farmer can rest assured after we’ve

trained the workers“, said Schoonraad.Furthermore Schoonraad stated that

they decided to assist farmers becausethey were spending great sums on wageseach month.

More important is to improve thefarmers’ production and profitability.

Through this initiative the farmworkerswill know what to do and how to do it.They will also understand the motivationbehind certain activities. This is aninvestment. The Grootfontein mobile unitis a “college on wheels”.

Such a unit is fully equipped with all ofthe training equipment that is necessary.The moment farmers notice that theirworkers need further knowledge or skills,they contact us and complete a formstating their needs. We then contact thefarmer and arrange a date for training.

Good news to emerging farmersis that they can expect to accessloans of up to R300 000, once

the Macro-agricultural Finance Institutionsof South Africa (Mafisa) has finalised talkswith leading funding institutions.

Mafisa is currently engaged in talkswith the LandBank, Uvimba Finance,Postbank, Itaa, Khula and MpumalangaAgricultural Development to easeprocedural constraints for farmers whenapplying for funding. It further plans toact as collateral for farmers seekingfunding from other financial institutions.Mr Daniel Kekana, Senior Manager forsaid that they are planning to increasethe loan access for Mafisa from R100 000

The lecturer in question then goes to thefarm with his mobile.

The mobile training units also focus onthe production of small livestock, but alsooffer a few supporting courses. Popularcourses include sheep and goatmanagement and wool classification.

Workers are supported by courses onwelding, windmill repairs, fencing andeven marketing and others. Theadvantage of this initiative is that farmersand farmworkers receive training on theirrespective farms and that they are alsoable to do their chores while being trained.

“We want to develop more of theseunits countrywide”, statedSchoonraad.This can easily be adaptedto answer the needs of the grain industry.There is definite room for growth in theother fields of agriculture, “ he added.

Training can improvefarming

to R300 000. “Now the farmers can buythe necessary services, increase thevolume of production and in the processget a chance to grow.”

Mr Kekana said that in the past farmerscould not access funding from the existingfunding institutions. The initial projectedfunding target was 2 000 farmers andnow the number has almost tripled to5 000.

To increase awareness about Mafisa’sexistence, the institution holds road shows,presents various workshops and placesadvertisements on television. So farMafisa has only been launched in threeprovinces, namely Limpopo, EasternCape and KwaZulu-Natal. It is expectedthat by the end of June, the project should

be fully launched in all provinces. Interested farmers should fi l l

application forms obtainable fromidentified outlets and extension offices.The extension officer will assist in thecompletion of the form. The applicationwill then undergo a screening and creditevaluation process. Under normalcircumstances, the application will nottake more than two months to process.Applicants are encouraged to comply withall regulations and ensure that all therequirements are met with. If farmers hadpreviously been rejected upon application,they are encouraged to reapply providedthey furnish all the required informationon the post rejection report.

By Themba Mathebula andKeitumetse Mmushi

By Tshepo Seloana

Mafisa increases loanaccess


The United Nations Food andAgriculture Organization (FAO) hassuggested major reforms in the way

food aid is managed and distributed.According to the Director-General of

the FAO, Jacques Diouf, they proposedthat food aid should not be linked to profitdealings. In an attempt to resolve theproblem now, all World TradeOrganisation (WTO) members arerequired to ensure that food aid is notlinked to commercial exports ofagricultural products.

“In many cases food aid is usedbecause it is the only resource available,not because it is the best solution to theproblem. Increased and more flexibleresources are needed to address foodinsecurity,” said Diouf.

State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA)said that almost all food aid donated bythe USA is tied to domestic requirementsfor procurements, processing andshipping and other donors have similarrequirements.

Some donors have stopped donatingfood aid in the form of products. Instead,they provide cash. According to the UN’sWorld Food Programme (WFP) up to15 % to 25 % of all food aid is nowpurchased in the country where it isneeded.

SOFA pointed out that “such

transactions are generally ‘untied’,although donors may stipulate wherepurchases are to be made. This reducesthe overall flexibility of the procuringagency, raising costs.

While food aid is relatively small in termsof the global food economy, it constitutesa significant share of the total food supplyin individual countries in certain years.

To all intents and purposes there arethree major types of food aid, programme,project and emergency.

Programme food aid is a contributionof food produced by a rich country to thegovernment of a recipient country.

Project food aid is donated to supportspecific activities and projects, and is oftenrelated to promoting agriculturaldevelopment, nutrition and food security

By Tshepo Seloana

FAO calls for abetter way offeeding themillions

directed at programme such as food –for– work and school feeding.

Emergency food aid is distributed freeto the food–insecure in times of crisis.However, this aid is expensive and slowsintervension, especially when sourced ina donor country.

“Food aid must be demand-directednot donor directed” said Human RightsDirector of the German Charity, bread forthe World, Michael Windfuhr emphasisingthe necessity of a sound needs assessmentof food–insecure and vulnerable groupsahead of distributing food aid.

The agency revealed that interventionsaimed at rebuilding market infrastructureand restoring trade links can often achievelasting improvements in food securitywithout the need for massive food aid”.

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4th WORLD CONGRESS OF RURAL WOMEN

About 2000 delegates from all over the world will descend upon South Africa during April 2007 for the 4th World

Congress of Rural Women (WCRW).

The Congress, which will take place from the 23 to 25 April at the International Conference Centre in Durban,

is hosted by the Ministry for Agriculture and Land Affairs in partnership with the South African Civil Society.

Delegates have been drawn from rural women, Government, international and intergovernmental organisa-

tions and civil society.

The WCRW is an event held every four years under various pertinent themes. It was founded in Australia in

1994 and was later hosted by the United States of America in 1998, followed by Spain in 2002. This year it is

Africa’s turn.

The Congress will afford rural women in particular, the opportunity to refl ect on the progress made towards re-

alising the Millennium Development Goals of the World Food Summit, which committed all countries to reduce

poverty by half by 2015.

Among other things, the congress will also discuss multisectoral issues affecting the development of rural

women.

The Congress will be preceded by the African Consultative Conference of Rural Women from

19 to 21 April 2007 at the same venue for the formulation of the African position on the WCRW.

As our country‘s political and business leaders are getting ready for the massive world event, South Africa’s

Civil Society has chosen to believe that the nature of this event requires that rural women be both politically

and socially empowered so as to inform their discussion and engage in rural development activities at grass-

roots. It is imperative that rural women from diverse segments of society participate in this Congress in large

numbers, as the policies that will be discussed by the leadership will impact mostly on their lives.

In this regard, a permanent physical space at the WRCW, called the Rural Women’s Voices Tent (RWVT) will

be set up to meet the needs of rural women. The Tent will be an integral part of the Congress’ Forum for Non-

governmental Organisations (NGOs). The Tent will be held concurrently with the Congress from 21 to 24 April

2007 at the Durban’s Kingmead Stadium. The RWVT is of utmost importance in the context of the rural women

development agenda and for the strengthening of the WRCW outcomes and it will therefore raise issues af-

fecting rural women in the global arena.

NB: Attendance is per invitation only

For further details call: Mr Thapsana Molepo @ +27 76 021 5327, Ms Sarah Manthata @ +27 79 494 1674 or

Mandisa Monakali +27 84 516 8734

agrinews maart 2007 - Natural Resources Institute

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