OVERVIEWAgricultureInnovation is improving agriculture.SECTOR INSIGHTKaran Beef’s Heidelberg lotis the biggest in the world.Finding out how fast barley germinates is a vital component ofthe brewing process.A new and faster method has not only created a greatdeal of interest, the “Rapid Screening of Barley” championedby three University of Johannesburg professors has also garneredfirst prize in the Gauteng Accelerator Programme (GAP) InnovationCompetition in the Biosciences category. The ceremony ispictured here.. Professors Eduard Venter, Charles Whitehead and DrJoseph Walker are the pioneers in agricultural technology whosebreakthrough has been compared to a disposable test for Covid.Both other award winners in Biosciences were innovators inagriculture: iGrovest Group (Lesedi Moseki) produces, trades anddistributes agricultural commodities; Sholab Nutraceuticals (ProfFrancis Shode and Cynthia Moyo) produces food fortified withexacts from edible medicinal plants.The theme of the GAP awards was “Solving Societal ChallengesThrough Technology Innovation” and the winners received prizesthat included seed funding and access to The Innovation Hub’sincubation programmes.The Gauteng Industrial Development Zone (GIDZ) locatedat OR Tambo International Airport has an agro-processing plantwhich is intended to encourage the export of high-value goods.The Provincial Government of Gauteng has set up Action Labs tofocus on agriculture and agro-processing with an emphasis on landONLINE RESOURCESAgricultural Research Council: www.arc.agric.zaSouth African Poultry Association: www.sapoultry.co.zaThe Innovation Hub: www.theinnovationhub.comtenure issues and improvingfood security. Linking producersto the value chain will benefittownship economies.Gauteng’s agriculturalsector is focussed on producingvegetables. There is commercialfarming in the southern sectorof the province (part of SouthAfrica’s maize triangle) and thefarming of cotton, groundnutsand sorghum is undertaken inareas near Bronkhorstspruit (east)and Heidelberg (in the south).The province is home tosome of South Africa’s biggestagricultural companies,including AFGRI. Karan Beefis Africa’s largest processorof cattle and it has a largefeedmill in Heidelberg. TheHeidelberg farm is the largestfeedlot in the world at 2 330haand the abattoir facilities inneighbouring Mpumalangaprocess up to 380 000 head ofcattle annually.The Kanhym Agrimill inVereeniging is one of three inthe company’s portfolio, whichcollectively processes 250 000tons of animal feed annually.Kanhym Estates is the largestproducer of pigs in the country.Poultry is a big sector in farmGauteng. Companies includeAstral Foods, RCL Foods andDaybreak Foods, which hasoperations in four provinces. ■GAUTENG BUSINESS 202526PHOTO: The Innovation Hub
Oil and gasA gas turbine has been recommissioned.An open-cycle gas-turbine plant has been renamed andrecommissioned.City Power, as an implementing agent of the GautengEnergy Response Plan, will deliver 50MW from the plant whichis located in downtown Johannesburg. At an inauguration ceremonyheld in April 2024, the John Ware Plant was named for a former City ofJohannesburg mayor and the plant was officially opened.The Provincial Government of Gauteng had previouslyannounced that it wanted to take “decisive steps” to increase theavailability and use of gas. National policy is driving a switch tothe use of gas. A national Gas Utilisation Master Plan (GUMP) isbeing developed.An allocation of 3 126MW to natural gas has been made in thenational medium-term energy policy to 2030.The announcement by Sasol that it will cut supplies of naturalgas from Mozambique in 2026 has caused considerable discussionamong users of the energy source, including the Industrial Gas UserAssociation – Southern Africa (IGUA – SA), which said that this wouldhave a significant impact on the manufacturing sector.IGUA – SA’s website notes that natural gas could bolster socioeconomicgrowth, attract investment and render “the mining, energyand manufacturing sectors more efficient and globally competitive”.The association has members in the mining, manufacturing,agricultural and transport sectors.The country’s biggest supplier of industrial heating fluids, FFSRefiners, supplies this product out of a plant at Chloorkop while thecompany’s Evander site is responsible for heavy fuel oils. Evander alsohas a tank with installed capacity of 8 500m³.Egoli Gas has a pipeline network that extends over 1 200km inand around Johannesburg and the company has 7 500 domestic,industrial and commercial customers. The company that owns EgoliGas, Reatile, has a 30% stake in Vopak and a stake in CNG Holdings.Ardagh Glass Packaging (formerly Consol) has contracted to buyliquid natural gas (LNG) from Renergen, which is developing a largeproject in the Free State.The regulator and promoter of oil and gas exploration in SouthAfrica, Petroleum Agency South Africa, has awarded coalbedONLINE RESOURCESNational Energy Regulator of South Africa: www.nersa.org.zaSouth African Oil & Gas Alliance: www.saoga.org.zaSouth African Petroleum Industry Association: www.sapia.co.zaSECTOR INSIGHTSasol is cutting supplies.OVERVIEWCutting the ribbon to inaugurate theJohn Ware Plant.methane gas and natural gasrights in the provinces onGauteng’s border, Free State andKwaZulu-Natal.Delta Natural Gas (DNG)Energy is rolling out 400 naturalgas refuelling sites across SouthAfrica with a focus on the taxi andlogistics sectors. The first sites willbe Johannesburg and Tshwane.NGV Gas, a subsidiary ofCNG Holdings, is promotingcompressed natural gas (CNG)as a versatile alternative acrossall sectors.The major economic sectorsusing gas are the metals sectorand the chemical, pulp andpaper sector. Brick and glassmanufacturers are also bigconsumers. ■PHOTO: Gauteng Provincial Government 27GAUTENG BUSINESS 2025
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