DAFFOfficial newsletter of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

January 2010

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International News

3Departmental News

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Also in this issue:

Departmental News

Sector News

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Shine 2010 shine

Greening the nation

Nations committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Pompom weed threat to productive land

Gearing up to ensure food safety

Exploring alternatives in the agrarian reform

Helping farmers to avoid a decline of the maize supply

Wild Expo

Sector News

Minister meets Agriculture MECsIn a bi-monthly MinMec meeting held at the Burgers Park hotel in Pretoria on January 26, the Minister of Agricul-ture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF), Ms Tina Joemat-Pettersson, and Deputy Minister, Dr Pieter Mulder, met with the provincial Members of the Execu-tive Committee (MECs) to carve the way forward in increasing service delivery within the sector.

The MinMec meeting was attended by MECs responsible for Agriculture, the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Mr Mlungisi Johnson, Heads of Departments (HoDs) (provincial) and the Chief Executive

Officers (CEOs) of parastatals and coop-erations with vested interests in agriculture. Joemat-Petterson urged the delegates to intensify their work towards transforming the sector by working as a collective. “We should work towards transforming the sec-tor and this means we must be revolution-ary in our approach by working differently, smarter and better”.

The Minister said there is a the need to accelerate service delivery by creating a Rapid Response Team inclusive of the provincial departments of agriculture and representatives from the Ministry. This team

WORKING TOGETHER TO TRANSFORM AGRICULTURAL SECTOR: Ms Tina Joemat-Pettersson, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Dr Pieter Mulder, Mr Mlungisi Johnson, Chairperson for the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries with the provincial MECs for Agriculture during the MinMec meeting in Pretoria.

to p 2

By Percy Sepaela

Sector News

Sector News

Sector News

January 2010 DAFFnews No. 12

Editor Foster Mohale (012) 319 6746 fosterm@daff.gov.zaReporters Thuli Dube (012) 319 7929 thulid@daff.gov.za Samuel Kgatla (012) 319 6654 samuelk@daff.gov.za Innocent Mhlanga (012) 319 7827 innocentm@daff.gov.za Rony Moremi (012) 319 6622 rincertm@daff.gov.za Percy Sepaela (012) 319 6866 percys@daff.gov.za Mercia Smith (012) 319 6666 mercias@daff.gov.zaSubeditor Willie de Jager (012) 319 6636Distribution Pam Sutherland (012) 319 7104 Fax (012) 326 2817 Photographer Fanie Mahlangu (012) 319 6654 faniem@daff.gov.za

DAFFnews is the newsletter of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Private Bag X250, PRETORIA 0001. It is published by the Directorate Agricultural Information Services, Private Bag X144, PRETORIA 0001.

Opinions expressed in the DAFFnews are not necessarily those of the editorial team. No part of this newsletter may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without prior permission from the editor.

Departmental

will be responsible for handling enquiries raised by the public through the presi-dential hotline. “The time has come that a Rapid Response Team, made up of all the provincial departments of agriculture and the Ministry, is created to deal with the issues raised through the Presidential Hotline. We had a 29 % response rate and now we only respond to 19 %, which means we have gone from bad to worse” she said. In addition, she mentioned that most of the questions posed by members of the public were from the provinces.

Referring to the ruling party’s 2009 elec-tion manifesto and the 8 January 2010 statement by Pres. Jacob Zuma, which places rural development and agrarian transformation as one of the five key prior-ity areas, Joemat-Pettersson told delegates that they should recognise their role in a developmental state where they should increase assistance in rural communities to boost the rural economy. “We should be a developmental state and our approach must be people-centred so that we can increase service delivery,” she stated.

In a new approach to improve ties with farmworkers and farm dwellers, the Minister announced that progress is be-ing made towards hosting a number of provincial mini farm-dweller summits to be followed up by a national summit later in the year. These forums will, on the one hand, create a platform for farmworkers and dwellers to raise their plight on farms while on the other hand, government will create mechanisms for timely interven-tions in curbing crime; ensuring security of

Minister meets Agriculture MECsfrom p 1

tenure; providing education and training; and stimulating economic development for rural communities. Joemat-Pettersson revealed a plan to launch a national hot-line for victims of illegal evictions. “We will set up a national hotline for the farm dwellers, so that those farmworkers who are being abused or evicted illegally can access assistance speedily.”

Within South Africa’s context of land reform, where the target was to redistribute 30 % of white-owned land to black farm-ers by 2014, delegates were unanimous to tread carefully by holistically dealing with white commercial farmers in ensur-ing food security. Joemat-Pettersson also mentioned that certain land legislation would be reviewed to expedite the land reform programme and avoid the chaos. “The willing-buyer-willing-seller policy, the Extension of Security of Tenure Act (ESTA) and other regulations are going to be under scrutiny and will be transformed. We should engage our farmers to avoid the situation experienced in other countries,” she stated.

During the meeting, MECs were encour-aged to create a database on the status of black-owned farms to assess the impact of land redistribution, restitution and tenure reform. An unfortunate impression has been created through stereotyping that farms redistributed to black farmers were destined to fail and this database will ensure that farms which are lying fallow are resuscitated so as to continue adding to food security.

Several presentations were made, in-

cluding one from the Land Bank which shared its new curatorship model intended to assist farmers who are in distress. In most instances, black farmers have struggled to finance their loans acquired from the Land Bank and some have subsequently opted to abandon their operations. This new model, which will have both a Collateral Fund and Supplementary Fund, will ease the burden on farmers whose operations have been stifled by financial problems.

Ms Tina Joemat-Pettersson, Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

No. 1 DAFFnews January 2010 3

Departmental

SHINE 2010 SHINE!The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries under the

leadership of Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson has been rated as one of the departments that excelled in 2009.

We are delighted to extend our warm-est greetings to you at the beginning of another exciting year full of challenges and opportunities. As the editorial team, we would like to take this op-portunity to wish every employee great success in realising his/her dreams for 2010 and beyond.

The president of the country, Mr Jacob Zuma, said during his 2010 New Year message, that 2010 marks the beginning of the most important year in our country since 1994. The 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup, which we regard as the greatest marketing opportunity of our time, is just around the corner, and like other govern-ment departments, we have a mammoth task in ensuring that the international visitors are aware of what is permitted through our borders in advance to avoid

embarrassment on their arrival at the ports. The entire world will be cautiously watch-ing and by all means, we should get our message across on time.

It will be wrong not to mention that the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries under the leadership of Minister Ms Tina Joemat-Pettersson has been rated as one of the departments that excelled in 2009. The reviews come from peers and the media. In the latter case, hard work and commitment are observed. Let us keep up the good work and continue shining.

We should keep Football Fridays alive and charged positively. This occasion was declared by the Deputy President of South Africa, Mr Kgalema Motlanthe, on Friday 04 September 2009, where all South Af-ricans were encouraged to wear a football

shirt every Friday up until, and even during, the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The motive behind this campaign is to build support and create an excitement around the 2010 FIFA World Cup event which will kick off in less than 5 months. Mark the date, 11 June 2010.

We once more encourage all director-ates to uphold their support by continu-ously alerting us about their activities that may need exposure in the departmental publications in order to share information with the rest of the department and the stakeholders.

Note that 2010 is “The Year of Working Together to Speed up Ef-fective Service to the People”.

January 2010 DAFFnews No. 14

Departmental

Greening the nation, leaving a lasting legacy

By Rony Moremi

Since an announcement by FIFA Presi-dent, Joseph Sepp Blatter, on 15 May 2004 that South Africa will be ready to host 2010 FIFA World Cup, a number of initiatives and projects were started countrywide to show the readiness and eagerness by Africans to host an international soccer event of this magnitude.

One of the evident initiatives directly linked to the World Cup, is the Green Goal 2010 Project, which was initiated and coordinated by the SABC in partner-ship with various government departments, municipalities and the FIFA Local Organis-ing Committee (LOC).

This project was launched in November 2009 ahead of the World Cup by the authorities from the LOC and Department of Environmental Affairs together with the representatives from the host cities.

It has been linked directly to the count-down of the World Cup in a bid to beautify the country for the football spectacular and ensure that the event is environmentally friendly.

Like of the partnering departments and municipalities, the Department of Agri-culture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) has also joined the project. This was appar-ent on Friday 04 December 2009 when the department worked together with the SABC and Lejweleputswa Municipality in Welkom, Mpumalanga, where they planted about 188 trees as part of the pledge signed by host cities towards 2010 greening.

The number of trees planted (188) sym-bolised the number of days left before the kickoff of 2010 World Cup. These trees were planted in different areas around Welkom, Khotsong and Hlolohelo inter-mediate schools, Community Park and Phakisa Racecourse.

The trees planted are part of the big five indigenous trees commonly found in the Free State, namely white stinkwood (Modutu), river bushwillow (Mokgalo) and common karee (Mosinabele).

Mr Mike Modise of the Forestry Com-

ponent of DAFF, then attached to the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, said the planting of trees will leave the cit-ies and communities with an everlasting legacy after the World Cup. “More trees will be planted along towns as part of city beautification and to reduce carbon emissions, said Modise. Among the del-egates to support the project at Welkom event, was the MEC for the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs in the Free State, Mxolisi Dukwana.

Learners shared their knowledge of the importance of planting trees and caring for the environment. Mr Tumelo Mogoregi from Khotsong Primary informed other learners and parents about climate change and how planting more trees could mini-mise the impact of global warming, while Mr David Noha believes that planting trees is no longer a need but a must, given all the circumstances such as climate change. More trees will be planted in all host cit-ies as part of the countdown to the 2010 World Cup.

Mr Mxolisi Dukwana, MEC for the Free State Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs planting a tree.

No. 1 DAFFnews January 2010 5

International

Nations committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

By Percy Sepaela

Amid reluctance and scepticism by industrialised nations to commit themselves in substantially reducing greenhouse gas emissions during the recently United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNCCC), Pres. Jacob Zuma said South Africa will be able to reduce emissions by 34 % be-low ‘business as usual’ levels by 2020 and by 42 % in 2025.

The Climate Change Conference held in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, between December 07 and 18, was characterised by intense debates and stiff resistance to sign any legally bind-ing agreements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, especially by developed countries such as the United States (US), Germany, France, Italy, Russia and China. The reluctance to sign a legally binding document at this conference means that any hope of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2 ºC to save the planet has been greatly compromised.

Under the United Nations’ watch, several

international protocols have been signed previously, notably the Kyoto Protocol and the UNFCCC, where both industrialised and developing nations committed them-selves to reduce carbon emissions in the atmosphere. The Kyoto Protocol, which was adopted in Kyoto, Japan, on 11 De-cember 1997 and entered into force on 16 February 2005, is generally viewed as an important step towards a truly global emission reduction regime that will stabil-ise greenhouse gas emissions.

In all intents and purposes, the Copen-hagen Conference should have given birth to a new international framework to be implemented after the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol in 2012. This Protocol, much like the UNFCCC, had also been designed to assist poorer nations in adapting to the adverse effects of climate change.

Speaking at the Copenhagen Confer-ence, Pres. Jacob Zuma told world lead-ers that it was known that poor nations

were affected severely by climate change. “Developing countries are most affected by climate change and it is also known that developed countries are historic-ally responsible for 80 % of the current emissions in the atmosphere,” he told delegates. Zuma mentioned that weather patterns in developing countries such as South Africa, especially in coastal areas, were already causing havoc in the lives of people, making this challenge a reality they are confronting already.

Pres. Zuma added that an agreement that recognises a mutual responsibility among nations to reduce emissions was already needed without jeopardising the growth of developing nations. This, ac-cording to Zuma, is a principle of mutual but differentiated responsibility enshrined in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Although no legally binding agreement was entered into at the Copenhagen Con-ference, the Copenhagen Accord drafted by the US, China, India, South Africa and Brazil was acknowledged widely by participating countries. The accord rec-ognises that climate change is one of the greatest challenges today and that action should be taken to keep any temperature increases to below 2 ºC. Furthermore, the accord does not contain any legally bind-ing clauses to reduce carbon emissions but was endorsed by countries such as the US, Britain and Italy.

Extremists say that developed countries are principally responsible for the current high levels of carbon emissions in the atmosphere as a result of more than 150 years of industrial activity and greater re-sponsibility to reduce emissions should be placed on them under the UN’s principle of “common but differentiated responsibili-ties”. Following the Copenhagen failure, optimists anticipate that the next interna-tional meeting to be held in Mexico City in 2010 will herald positive agreements to save the planet for future generations.

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges today and action should be taken to keep any temperature increases to below 2 ºC

January 2010 DAFFnews No. 16

Sector

Pompom weed threat to productive land

By Rony Moremi

It looks appealing on the side of the road, just like any attractive flower you can pick and take home. The pompom weed, also known by the scientific name Campuloclinium macrocephalum is a pretty flower with rough, sharp hairs and becomes more conspicuous during its flowering season, between Decem-ber and March.

It grows mostly an roadside verges and major public freeways; already it can be seen along freeways in Pretoria. In winter the weed cannot be seen because it stays in a dormant state underground owing to its perennial underground structures (tuber-like roots). These roots also help it to survive fires and frost during the winter months.

Pompom is classified as an Invasive Alien Plant (IAP) under the Conservation of Agricultural Resources Act, Act No. 43 of 1983 (CARA) of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF). IAPs are plants that do not originate in South Africa.

Some of these were introduced into the country for various purposes such as forestry plantation and ornamental purposes. It originated in South America, and it is estimated that of about 9 000 plants introduced into South Africa, 198 of these are classified as invasive and they cover about 10 % of the country. They grow rapidly and spread fast because of a lack of natural enemies such insects of their country of origin.

IAPs do not only pose a threat to grass-lands and biodiversity, but also to water security and the ecological functioning of natural systems and productive use of land. Large volumes of water are used and they displace native vegetation. IAPs such as water hyacinth affect agriculture, fisheries, transport, recreation and water supply.

The DAFF works in partnership with the provincial departments of agriculture (PDAs) through the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) and Working for Water Programme under the auspices

of the Department of Water Affairs to eradicate these invasive species. Since the inception of the Working for Water Programme, more than 1 million ha of invasive plants have been cleared.CARA classifies weeds into three categories

Category one plants have no economic value and pose a threat to natural re-sources. Pompom falls under category one, which, according to CARA, may not occur on any land or inland water surface other than in biological control reserves.

Category two weeds are not allowed to be cultivated without the water-use

Different methods used to remove IAPs

Mechanical methods - felling, removing or burning invading plants. •Chemical methods - using environmentally safe herbicides. •Biological control - using species-specific insects and diseases from the •

alien plant’s country of origin. To date 76 biocontrol agents have been released in South Africa against 40 weed species.

certificate of the Water Act, e.g. bluegum tree and wattle.

Category three pose a threat to national agricultural resources and may only be planted for ornamental purposes, e.g. jacaranda.

You can help conserve our precious agricultural and water resources by plant-ing indigenous plants in your garden as these consume less water and reporting sites where you see pompom. Indigenous gardens also attract birds. Given the scar-city of water we cannot afford to have any IAP quench away its thirst using our most precious resources.

No. 1 DAFFnews January 2010 7

Sector

The agriculture and food industry is gearing up to ensure that food safety is attended to before welcoming the thousands of visitors who will be streaming South Africa for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The importance of food safety places a great degree of pressure on the pest control industry to improve its services. Pest control companies have to take account in order to better prepare themselves with re-gard to health regulations and food safety. Globally a large number of people are affected by food-borne diseases as a direct result of negligence and lack of informa-tion regarding food safety regulations. In the light of this, pest control companies should train their staff thoroughly about the

The Department of Agriculture, For-estry and Fisheries (DAFF) is one of the key regulatory state departments with the authority to enforce laws enacted by Parliament to protect the South Af-rican consumer, producer and farmer, the environment and other national interests.

The department’s regulatory activities regarding plants and plant products are enforced primarily by the directorates: Food Safety and Quality Assurance and Agriculture Product Inspection Services (APIS).

APIS is involved in inspections and other related activities aimed at ensuring that imported luggage, cargo, mail, animals and plants are safe. Border inspections are conducted by the division: Ports of Entry Point Control at designated ports of entry. The directorate has introduced the use of detector dogs at the OR Tambo In-ternational Airport in Kempton Park. These dogs are trained to detect regulated ag-

Applying pesticides

When applying pesticides one should always read the label on the container of the pesticide that you intend using and ensure that the product is registered for the particular application and spec-trum of control required.

Follow the safety precautions as indicated on the product; this includes the use of personal safety equipment, such as gloves and a face mask. Also ensure that you follow precau-tions such as not eating, drinking or smoking while applying the pesticide. Hands should always be washed with soap after application. Give special attention to withdrawal periods, espe-cially those related to edible garden crops. The withdrawal period is the time before the fruit, vegetables or herbs can be eaten.

Gearing up to ensure food safety

correct procedure for all anticipated pests, use appropriate elimination methods and have proper training in place for staff on food hygiene.

With summer in full swing, approved fly control units should be placed ap-propriately in high risk zones. Fly units should have appropriate mechanisms that trap flies to ensure that contamina-tion from insect debris on the surrounding food production areas is prevented. Most important, the supplier should belong to an industry controlling body such as the South African Pest Control Association (SAPCA).

The integrated Pest Management tech-nique (IPM) is a system that uses physical, biological and only as a last resort, chemi-

cal means to maintain, control or elimi-nate unwanted insects and vermin. IPM decreases the chances of pest infestations by maintaining a clean, well-constructed facility. This is a more cost-effective route than using expensive and potentially haz-ardous chemicals.

“Knowing that the 2010 FIFA World Cup is close by, we need to be certain that all food retailers follow all the food protocol precautions which must be properly moni-tored,” says Mr Siva Chetty, Deputy Head of Pollution Control and Risk Management in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.

Everybody has to contribute (even if it is in a small way) to make this event a safe, pleasant and enjoyable experience for all our guests.

By Mercia Smith

ricultural products at international arrival halls. Preborder inspections are aimed at exports of trading partners, and post-border inspections are intended for those regulated articles that were detained at inspected borders or escaped the border-control inspections.

Regulatory activities

January 2010 DAFFnews No. 18

Departmental

IPC orientation and technicaltraining workshop

By Rony Moremi

The Directorate: Food Security of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) hosted a 3-day Integrated Food Security Phase Clas-sification (IPC) orientation and techni-cal training workshop from 10 to 12 November.

The workshop was attended by national and provincial staff members dealing with food security from both government and nongovernmental agencies and universi-ties. The aim of the workshop was to raise awareness of the IPC, a food security severity scale that was introduced in South Africa on 24 June last year. The IPC was developed by a multiagency partnership of eight major United Nations (UN) agen-cies and international nongovernment organisations: Care International and the joint research centre of the European Commission.

A platformThe workshop was a platform through

which the government introduced IPC for a better understanding of the severity of food security in the country. The workshop will be followed by a roll-out of the IPC to pilot provinces. It will be piloted in the Eastern Cape, Gauteng and Limpopo.

To allay the fears and concerns of provinces, Ms Zodwa Phakedi, Deputy Director: Directorate Food Security reas-sured provincial representatives that IPC will not replace the Food Insecurity and Vulnerability Information Mapping System (FIVIMS), a South African tool to assist with national food security interventions. She said, “FIVIMS is a toolbox for analysing food security. The IPC is just one of the screws in the toolbox”.

Food security dataDealing with food security data is a

complicated exercise as pointed out by Mr Nick Haan, Food and Agriculture Or-ganization (FAO) chief technical advisor to

the Food Security Analysis (FSAU). He said that the IPC is not a one-size-fits-all-type of analysis but is a convergence of evidence. Evidence is collected from data assembled and analysed to give a clear picture of the food security situation; it can also be used to determine imminent or current events, thereby giving a clear indication of areas that need to be watched. It also gives comparable results globally and assists countries to communicate in a mutual language in food security.

Provincial representativesProvincial representatives were given

tasks to determine IPC relevance and insti-tutionalisation, working on the data of their respective provinces. Ms Nomawonga Kama of the Eastern Cape said her prov-ince is already considering having a tech-nical team drawn from the Integrated Food Security and Nutrition Task Team (IFSNTT)

at district and local level. “At last we will have a tool that will help us identify needy communities,” commented Nomawonga. Somalia is the first country in which IPC was implemented and according to Nick there has been a significant change in the type of programmes used for food security analysis and there is a strong consensus from the government.

The SADC Regional Vulnerability and Assessment Committee (RVAC) endorsed the IPC and South Africa, Malawi, Mo-zambique and Zimbabwe are countries in the SADC that have already shown interest in adopting it. An awareness rais-ing workshop to introduce the IPC will be conducted in Mozambique. Kenya has already adopted and institutionalised the IPC at district level.

There will be a practical training session from 23 to 26 November for the provinces that will be piloting the IPC.

FURTHER TRAINING: Mr Thomas Mamabolo and Mr Khehla Mnguni from Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development at the workshop.

No. 1 DAFFnews January 2010 9

Sector

Rapid changes affecting the global agricultural industry such as climate change, new market demands and the complexities of these challenges call for the introduction of innovative research in agriculture aimed at en-hancing production.

This was a unanimous feeling by del-egates who attended the Agricultural Re-search Council (ARC) Symposium held at the end of last year, in Hatfield, Pretoria. The 2-day symposium was held under the banner: “Enabling collective innovation in agrarian research, development and edu-cation – lessons from the last decade”.

Presenting his paper titled: “Enhancing performance of rural innovation systems,” Dr Jon Daane, director at the International Centre for Development-oriented Research in Agriculture (ICDR), urged for the need to intensify agricultural research development to institute innovative approaches because of changing circumstances affecting the agricultural industry. “The effects of rapid changes such as global warming and especially climate change, market be-havioural patterns and the complexities of these challenges facing us require that we find innovative ways,” he said. He added that this innovation precipitates a mutual

adjustment between different fields for the mutual good of the industry. Daane men-tioned that the research institutions should not only produce a body of knowledge but get involved in promoting the profitable use of this knowledge.

The symposium featured reviews on scientific research involving carbon se-questration; nonsolar energy efficiency in agriculture; water-use efficiency and biodi-versity; and the impact on the environment and agricultural yields in conventional and organic farming systems. According to industry experts, organic farming has improved household food security across Africa and the water and energy sectors appreciate the role of organic farming in assisting farmers to adapt to climate change. In addition, if adopted on a larger scale, organic farming systems could be useful in mitigating the effects of climate change.

Mr Raymond Auerbach, Director of the Rainman LandCare Foundation in KwaZu-lu-Natal, mentioned that there are about 1,2 million organic farmers worldwide and his organisation assists in establishing knowledge systems in organic farming. However, they are also involved with about 600 000 certified organic farmers in Africa

to improve their livelihoods and produce quality food sustainably.

Dr Rocky Skeeff, Executive Director of the National Research Foundation respon-sible for New Business Development told delegates that there should be collective innovation so as to create an enabling environment for research collaboration. “The application of technology in the field is highly important and it should be con-ducted while we engage with stakeholders such as farmers, academics and science councils,” he said. Most speakers shared the common sentiment that there is a need to change from traditional methods to current technological means of producing organic foods by agro-industries. There has to be a transformation from the more pipeline approach to an interactive mode in which agricultural research develop-ment organisations will occupy centre stage in innovation systems.

“There is a role to be played by edu-cational institutes in innovation systems,” said Dr Daane of the ICDR. He men-tioned that there should be a creation of intergovernmental knowledge institutions for collaboration in innovation systems and that this required a combination of knowledge and skills.

Industry experts reveal that food nutri-tional quality has declined steadily over the past 130 years while, on the other hand crop yields per hectare have increased dramatically. Findings from research conducted between conventional and organic food quality in the last 20 years from 1980 to 2007 indicated that organic food is significantly more nutritious than conventional food. This finding was cor-roborated by a recent European Union study, convened at the cost of 18 million Euros, which ran from 2003 to 2005 and involved 31 research institutions which also found that organic food is more nu-tritious than conventional food. The two case studies point to the need for organic farming as a catalyst to eradicate global hunger.

Exploring alternatives in agrarian reform

By Percy Sepaela

January 2010 DAFFnews No. 110

Sector

Assisting farmers to avoid decline of the maize supply

By Percy Sepaela

According to long-term projections by farming experts, maize yields will drop significantly in the Sub-Saharan region unless small-scale farmers are assisted in dealing with the adverse effects of drought.

This emerged during the farming stake-holders’ conference held in Potchefstroom in November 2009 organised by the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) in partnership with the Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA).

WEMA is a public/private partner-ship led by the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) and aims to address the dev-astating effects of drought by developing drought-tolerant maize. Africa is a drought-prone continent rendering farming risky for millions of small-scale farmers who rely on rain-fall to water their crops. AATF will work with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Cen-tre, Monsanto and the na-tional agricultural research systems in South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique.

As world leaders delib-erate on the detrimental effects of climate change in the coming years, experts say small-scale farmers in the Sub-Saha-ran region will be affected severely, mainly because of the region’s drought-prone nature, lack of investment in agriculture and the overall lack of infrastructure.

Presenting his paper titled: “Climate change and its impact on crop production in South Africa” Prof. Raymond Barnard of the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) said there is generally awareness regard-ing climate change but that the problem was the implementation of decisions on

mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. “The problem has not been creating

awareness on this but rather on imple-mentation of the decisions to chart the way forward,” he said. He added that climate change is a phenomenon that happens over a long term and that it is basically man’s contribution affecting the earth’s zonal layer through industrial activities such as extensive burning of fossil fuel.

Barnard further said because of climate variability, there must be resources which are channelled towards adaptation. He

stated that industrialised nations should do enough to assist developing nations in coping with climate change. “The devel-oped world should put up financial means and technology to help developing coun-tries to adapt. They should play a positive role to reduce gas emissions and not only by offering funds for projects, but greatly reducing the emissions,” he said.

One of the speakers, Dr David Keetch of AfriaBio, who delivered a paper on geneti-cally modified crop production by small-

scale farmers in South Africa, said 1 600 000 ha of white maize, which is about 66 % of the land surface, is genetically modi-fied and this was a way of contributing to the country’s food security. “Small-scale farmers struggle to make a living through small pieces of land for food security and poverty alleviation,” he stated.

Keetch added that the challenge for small-scale farmers to produce biotech maize was that the seeds are expensive but his organisation is negotiating with the Gauteng Department of Agriculture

and Rural Develop-ment to give these farmers seeds. He believes that “giving farmers the seeds will bring them into the commercial fold,” he concluded.

On the other hand, Dr Kingston Mashin-gaidze of the ARC said the WEMA project will assist in developing new African drought-tolerant maize vari-eties using the best technology available internationally. “These drought-tolerant varie-ties will help small-scale farmers to pro-duce more reliable harvests so that they

can feed their families and increase their incomes,” he said.

According to Mashingaidze, drought is one of the primary reasons small-scale farmers in Africa are sceptical to adopt improved farming techniques such as hybrid seed and fertiliser. He added that in boosting their yields and incomes, farm-ers require good soil health, improved training and support, pest and disease management, and access to markets to sell their surplus.

No. 1 DAFFnews January 2010 11

Vasectomies for elephants

By Thuli Dube

Take a second and think, picture in your mind’s eye, if you will, the tes-ticles of an elephant - two kilos in weight, each the size of a cantaloupe, nestled deep in the churning mass of an elephant gut, attached just below the spine.

Now imagine having to anaesthetise the elephant in order to perform a vasectomy. Laparoscopy, or keyhole surgery, to re-move part of the vas deferens, is now a common medical procedure – however, not when carried out on elephants. The removed section was some 5 cm in length. In future, vasectomies may be a means of controlling elephant population growth, especially in small reserves.

The team that will perform these vasec-tomies have pioneered a giant laparo-scope, long enough to perform keyhole surgery in the very depths of an elephant’s innards. The elephant is kept standing during the operation with a combination of

slings and splints, the splints allowing the animal to support some of its own weight. The slings are slackened periodically throughout the operation to ensure good blood flow in the legs. While grabbing and cutting tools in the laparascope find their target 60 cm deep in the elephant’s side, a second team is cleaning and preparing the other side of the elephant for a quick snip in his other testicle.

The laparoscopic surgery takes about 3½ hours - plunging in first a long pipe through which a fibre-optic camera was fed, then the tools to poke around inside, another pipe to pump in air that pushed some of the other organs out of the way, and, finally, a little pair of scissors for the cutting task.

Once the procedure is complete on both sides, and after recovering from the anaesthetic he is free to roam again. Satellite collars have been fitted to keep extra tabs on the now-sterile bulls.

The speed and effectiveness of the vasec-tomy procedure is proof that the operation could form part of the solution to ‘South Af-rica’s elephant problem’ in stead of culling. In many such places, the elephant popula-tion has exploded beyond the carrying ca-pacity of the veld. Some people now argue that elephants pose a threat to biodiversity, and have to be controlled.

“We’re not about managing numbers, we’re about managing ecosystems,’’ said Wanda Mkutshulwa, a spokeswoman for South African National Parks, the gov-ernment reserve management agency. “Whenever any species starts to have a negative impact on other species, then you need to do something, especially when you have enclosed areas like we have in South Africa, because you eliminate some of the natural processes that would happen if the systems were open,’’ she said.

Sector

January 2010 DAFFnews No. 112

Sector

Agricultural Infrastructure and Engi-neering Structures (AIES) is one of the programmes of the ARC-IAE Silverton and it emphasises research, applica-tion of research and support services to departments in the form of farm structures, as well as crop and animal production facilities.

In 2009 the ARC-IAE was appointed to render services to different stakeholders in the industry, which included:

Preliminary design stage•Terrain surveys and detailing stage•Design and tender stage•Working drawing stage•Construction stage•Project management and construc-•tion supervision.

Provision of services to departmental •projects

Designs and implementations were done

Engineering support for agricultureBy Tendai Justin Mutenje

Mercia Smith

and are still ongoing as far as provision of services is concerned. Listed below are some of the departments involved and services rendered.

Free State Department:Cattle feedlots and tandem parlours, •sheep and goat projects

Limpopo Department of Agriculture:

Cattle feedlot and handling facili-•ties

North West:Cattle standard plans, goat and •sheep plans

Gauteng Rural Development and Land Reform:

Meyerton piggery project, Heidel-•berg cattle pens

Bojanala Platinum District Municipality:

Jericho 500 cattle feedlot•Chris Hani District Municipality:

300 and 600 standard plans, goat •project

Blouberg 500 cattle feedlot which is •in the practical completion stage.

Of particular interest completion stage ongoing Jericho 500 cattle feedlot in the construction phase in the Madibeng District for the Bojanala Platinum District Municipality near Jericho village.The project entails the establishment of a 500 cattle feedlot in Jericho village for the local Municipality of Madibeng under Bojanala Platinum District Mu-nicipality.ARC-IAE was appointed to render the design, drawings and documentation of the project

Lovers of wildlife and the great outdoors should diarise the 2010 Wild Expo, which will be held at eh Tshwane Events Centre in Pretoria from 30 April to 2 May.

This expo will bring together exhibi-tors displaying products and services such as weapons and ammunition, hunting bows, knives, hunting outfits, angling equipment, off-road vehicles, slaughtering equipment, camping equipment, photographic materi-als and accommodation options in lodges and game reserves. This is one of the biggest hunting, angling and outdoor shows in South Africa and an event not to be missed.

For further information contact tel (012) 348 5550, e-mail: market-ing@wildlifehunt.co.za or visit www.wildexpo.co.za

Wild ExpoGuide to machinery costs 2009/10

The 2009/10 Guide to machinery costs is available at the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Directorate: Agricultural Information Services, Private Bag X144, Pretoria, 0001. Tel (012) 319 7141. E-mail: sheilaf@daff.gov.za.The price is R50.00