OVERVIEW Agriculture
OVERVIEW Agriculture Agriculture is the third-largest contributor to employment. SECTOR INSIGHT Science is driving agricultural practices. Since 2020, agriculture has held third spot in terms of contributing to employing Limpopo’s population. In 2021, a burst of construction and property activity briefly changed the status quo but more than 100 000 people continue to earn their livelihood directly from agriculture. The percentage of people involved in agricultural production activities is 35.2%, according to the Statistics South Africa General Household Survey Report of 2022. This report also notes that Limpopo has the highest number of households with adequate access to food in South Africa, 95.5%, against the national average of 80.4%. The Unemployed Graduates Programme (UGP) of the Limpopo Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (LDARD) is paying off. Takalani Livhalani, pictured, and Lutendo Tshikudo were initially employed on farms and managed to save enough to start their own projects. Takalani is now sending produce to market and Lutendo is raising chickens, having invested in cages, irrigation pipes and other infrastructure. LDARD through the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme (CASP) provided additional infrastructure in the form of a 3.8ha fence, a diesel generator, drips and mainline pipes, borehole and borehole equipping and 5 000-litre tank. Agriculture is well supported by the province’s two universities. Both the University of Limpopo and the University of Venda have a strong focus on agriculture. The provincial government works with the tertiary institutions on research and programmes such as Land-Care, the Revitalisation of Agriculture, the Agro-Value Chain Plan, and the market access certification programme. Research into climate-smart agriculture, skills development and infrastructure development is done. The University of Limpopo Faculty of Science and Agriculture offers a broad range of programmes ranging from Agricultural to Zoological sciences. The stated aim of the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness at the University of Venda is to be at the centre of rural development within the region. The National Empowerment Fund has agreed to support the Lebowakgomo Abattoir, a poultry project of the Provincial Government, in the amount of R32-million. The project is designed to assist small-scale farmers and broiler producers. There will be 150 jobs created at the abattoir and many more along the value chain. Provincial government efforts to promote specific value chains in different areas are bearing fruit as various types of infrastructure are rolled out to support smallscale farmers. Farmer Production Support Units provide a cluster of services which include LIMPOPO BUSINESS 2024/25 20
OVERVIEW Future farmers. The Faculty of Science and Agriculture from the University of Limpopo participated in a career exhibition in July 2024, organised by the Greater Kruger Environmental Protection Foundation (GKEPF) and the Makuleke Communal Property Association. livestock auction facilities, mechanisation services and a training centre for farmers. These areas have been targeted: Sekhukhune District: grain and cotton; Mopani District: vegetables; Waterberg District: red meat; Capricorn District: potatoes. Since the Koba-Tlala Production Brigade Project was initiated in 2022/23, the South African National Defence Force procured over R1-million worth of fresh produce from the farmers involved. An additional 32 collection points have been established to allow small-scale farmers near military centres to sell their products. Cotton growing is experiencing a renewal in the province. The Limpopo Provincial Government’s programme for revitalising irrigation schemes is helping. In Ephraim Mogale Municipality about 345 hectares of cotton has been planted which will benefit 74 small-scale farmers in the area. Export contributions The percentage contribution of Limpopo agriculture to national agriculture is 7.6% although its contribution to provincial GDP is just 2.3%. Agro-processing has enormous potential to expand in every subsector. Limpopo’s fruits and vegetables form an important part of South Africa’s export basket and more than 45% of the annual turnover of the Joburg Market originates in the fertile province. Companies like ZZ2 are major contributors to the country’s annual production of 120 000 tons of avocados. Of the current crop, about half is currently produced in two Limpopo regions, Letaba and Tzaneen. South Africa’s best-known tomato producer ZZ2 has entered the avocado category to further diversify its product range. ZZ2 grows a large assortment of fruits including mangoes, onions, dates, cherries, apples, pears, stone fruit, almonds and blueberries. The company’s new R128-million processing facility for avocados and tomatoes is complete. With floor space of 11 200m² the facility is large, but then everything about ZZ2 tends to be on a big scale. ONLINE RESOURCES Citrus Growers Association: www.cga.co.za Macadamias South Africa: www.samac.org.za South African Subtropical Growers’ Association: www.subtrop.co.za Avocado exports are rising exponentially. In response to this demand, and the potential of the Chinese market, almost 1 000ha per year of new land is being planted with avocados in South Africa. The same amount of new macadamia planting is underway every year, according to Macadamias South Africa (SAMAC), adding to the existing 19 000ha. The other big sellers are mangoes and tomatoes. Limpopo grows three-quarters of South Africa’s mangoes and two-thirds of its tomatoes. The Waterberg District produces large quantities of red meat while Capricorn has potatoes in abundance, and Vhembe in the north specialises in citrus and subtropical fruits. Mopani has those fruits too – and the Mopani worm. The Sekhukhune region in the south-east produces grain and the marula fruit that goes into Amarula Cream liqueur. Westfalia is another huge enterprise, part of the Hans Merensky Group, and it is the world’s largest avocado grower. It also produces significant quantities of mango, litchi, citrus and macadamia and has three agri-processing plants in the province. Greenway Farms supplies about 45% of the fresh-market carrots consumed in Southern Africa under the Rugani brand. VKB Milling runs white maize mills in Mokopane, Lydenburg and Louis Trichardt and sells via the Magnifisan brand. VKB also has eight silos and 29 retail outlets in the Limpopo region. ■ 21 LIMPOPO BUSINESS 2024/25
