OVERVIEW Agriculture and
OVERVIEW Agriculture and agro-processing Sustainable agriculture is rewarding. SECTOR INSIGHT A Hemp Education Initiative is showing how cannabis can be used. Nonopa Tenza, a Matatiele farmer, was the proud first winner of the SME JumpStarter campaign in December 2023. Launched by MTN Business at the MTN SME Day event in May, the initiative aims to empower and recognise the growth and success of small and medium enterprises. The judges found the innovative approach to sustainable agriculture followed by Kevinot Farming to be worthy of a first prize of R100 000. Tenza, who trained as an accountant before turning her side hustle into her main business, will also receive an accounting software package for a year from Sage. Seasonal workers are encouraged to start micro-enterprises with seed allocations. Kevinot Farming also assists neighbouring farmers with access to markets, shares best practices and provides mechanisation services. Agricultural exports from the Eastern Cape contribute greatly to South Africa’s balance of trade. Recent logistical problems at ports have threatened to reduce volumes but Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) provided some good news when they announced that an additional direct-export cargo service from the Port of Ngqura to northern Europe was to be launched. The value of citrus exported from the Eastern Cape rose from R4.1-billion in 2021 to R4.7-billion in 2022. Meat exports to other Africa countries, Asia and the Middle East grew to R317-million (4.5-million tons) in 2022. Investments in woolshearing sheds in areas such as Dutywa resulted in a doubling of wool production in communal areas, from two-million tons in 2004 to 5.5-million tons in 2021. Countries such as Tunisia, Egypt and the UAE are being approached not only to receive imports from the province, but potentially also to attract new investors in the Eastern Cape. Commercial wool and mohair operations in the province are mainstays of the agricultural economy. The National Woolgrowers’ Association of SA (NWGA), with a membership base of 4 500 commercial and 20 000 communal members, is based in Gqeberha, as is Cape Wool SA. South Africa produces about 54% of the world’s mohair and Gqeberha is the mohair capital of the world. Farms around the small towns that dot the open plains south of Graaff- Reinet, Aberdeen, Somerset East, Jansenville and Willowmore routinely produce nearly half of South Africa’s production. The office of the South African Mohair Growers Association (SAMGA) is in Jansenville. Grootfontein College of Agriculture, the only tertiary educational institute in the country to offer a programme aimed at Angora goat farming and mohair production, is in Middelburg. Processing of mohair takes place in Kariega, Gqeberha and Ntabozuko (Berlin) outside East London. The mohair value chain includes brokers, buyers, processors, spinners, manufacturers and retailers. EASTERN CAPE BUSINESS 2024 32 PHOTO: MTN Business
OVERVIEW The SAMIL company has divisions all along the value chain. The Stucken group controls Mohair Spinners South Africa, Hinterveld (a mill) and the processing company Gubb & Inggs in Kariega. The rich natural grasslands of the Eastern Cape have the potential to produce high-value organic meat, a product that is increasingly popular in health-conscious international markets. Deciduous fruits such as apples, pears and apricots are grown primarily in the Langkloof Valley. Another crop in which the Eastern Cape leads national production is chicory. The province’s pineapple crop is grown in the same part of the Sunshine Coast that produces chicory. The Eastern Cape holds 21% of the country’s cattle (about 3.2-million), 28% of its sheep (seven-million) and 46% of its goats, making it the largest livestock province by some margin. The Sundays River Valley is South Africa’s biggest citrus producer from a defined area. The valley’s harvest in 2021 was 30.5-million cartons and this is anticipated to increase to 40-million by 2026. The province as a whole is the country’s second-largest cultivator of citrus. More than 4 000 people are employed in citrus in the Sundays River area, with that figure more than doubling in the picking and packing season. Further west, there is about 6 600ha of land under citrus in the Gamtoos Valley, which exports about nine-million cartons every year. Agro-processing Getting small-scale farmers connected to agro-processing value chains is a major goal for agricultural policy-makers. This lies behind the creation of the Wild Coast Special Economic Zone (SEZ) near Mthatha. The 5 000ha Ncora Irrigation Scheme is seen as a model for the SEZ, which has attracted interest from AngloGold Ashanti and Exxaro. The Eastern Cape Department of Agrarian Reform (DRDAR) has several programmes to support small-scale farmers. The Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) supports agro-processing through loans and equity arrangements: projects that have received financial support include aquaculture, the production of dietary fibre from pineapples and bamboo products. Ouma Rusks are made in Molteno and Cadbury Chocolates operates a big site across the lake from the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Gqeberha while Nestlé makes 11 kinds of chocolate at its factory in East London. The Sasko mill in Gqeberha is the province’s only big milling plant. ONLINE RESOURCES Citrus Growers’ Association of Southern Africa: www.cga.co.za Eastern Cape Rural Development Agency (ECRDA): www.ecrda.co.za Milk Producers Organisation: www.mpo.co.za SAMIL: www.samil.co.za South African Mohair Growers Association (SAMGA): www.angoras.co.za A Hemp Education Initiative has been offered to 100 Eastern Cape farmers by Training Force and Cheeba Cannabis Training. Coca-Cola Sabco and SAB’s Ibhayi brewery are the major beverage manufacturers in Gqeberha and Distell has a bottling plant in the city. Sovereign Foods in Kariega is the country’s fourth-biggest producer of poultry. The Eastern Cape provides approximately a quarter of South Africa’s milk and the industry is further expanding as producers are favouring high-rainfall coastal areas such as the Tsitsikamma region. There are about 70 000 people employed on commercial farms across the Eastern Cape, with a further 436 000 people dependent on smaller farms, mostly in the east. ■ PHOTO: Cheeba 33 EASTERN CAPE BUSINESS 2024
