Agriculture & Agri-processing
• Old Mutual has created a R6-billion fund for agriculture.
• National government is spending R577.6-million on food security and agrarian reform.
• Avocado export numbers are up.
Commercial farming and subsistence farming exist side by side in Mpumalanga. Large concerns are active in the cultivation of maize, sugar, timber, vegetables, fruit and tea and in the raising of poultry and cattle. Crop farming and livestock rearing define the subsistence sector although there is a growing trend for bigger concerns (sugar, tea and tobacco) to contract outgrowers. In this way, emerging farmers are drawn into the formal economy.
While downstream production facilities exist to add value to many products, much more can be done to beneficiate the province’s agricultural produce. The province has fruit-canning enterprises, furniture manufacturers and paper producers but value-addition is definitely an area where investors could make
a major impact in terms of economic upliftment and employment opportunities. Excellent returns on investment are anticipated given the close proximity of the province to Gauteng, the economic heartland of South Africa, and the international port of Maputo to the east.
The diverse topography, climate and soil varieties of the Highveld and Lowveld regions within Mpumalanga ensure a rich and varied agricultural landscape. The sector accounts for 3.9% of the gross geographical product (GGP) of the province and for nearly 12% of employment. Mpumalanga is one of South Africa’s most productive and important agricultural regions.
The drier Highveld region, with its cold winters, supports crops such as cereals, legumes and nuts. There is extensive irrigation in the Loskop Dam area. Ermelo, in the centre of the province, is one of South Africa’s main centres of sheep-farming and wool-production. Standerton in the south-west is a dairy centre and Piet Retief in the south-east concentrates on sugar and tropical fruit.
Subtropical fruit flourishes in the Lowveld with the town of Nelspruit being a major citrus producer. Mixed farming and potatoes, sweet potatoes and beans are mostly found in the southern and western parts of the province.
Commercial forests occur along the province’s borders with Swaziland in the south and the Kruger National Park in the north-east.
Mpumalanga plays a key role in South Africa’s position as a major exporter of fruits.
Crops
Grain
Mpumalanga produces one million tons of maize from 291 788 hectares. About 53 000 tons of wheat and 33 000 tons of sorghum are produced annually.
Soybeans
More than half of South Africa’s soybean crop is produced in Mpumalanga’s Highveld areas. National annual production levels are between 400 000 and 500 000 tons of soybean but the potential for producing much more exists, particularly in the light of moves within the alternative-energy field to use soybean as a feedstock.
If a plant were established to produce oil cake for animal feed (most of which is imported at the moment), then South Africa would need to produce about 900 000 tons of soybean.
Fruit
Subtropical fruits are farmed in large quantities. Mpumalanga accounts for about 21% of South Africa’s citrus production and a third of its export volumes, with Valencia being the province’s most popular varietal and Nelspruit being the centre of the sector.
Avocados, litchis, mangoes and bananas thrive in the province. Hazyview is an important source of bananas, with 20% of South Africa’s production originating in this district. In 2008/09, exports of avocadoes from South Africa rose from the previous year’s 46 372 tons to 61 771 tons. The Netherlands accounts for 46% of South Africa’s export market. South African mangoes are very popular in the Middle East.
Deciduous fruits are cultivated in smaller quantities. The village of Tonteldoos north of Dullstroom hosts an annual peach festival which includes liquid marvels such as peach mampoer. About 15 000 tons of table grapes are produced in the province annually and Mpumalanga produces its own wine.
A specialist fruit that does well in the province is the marula. The marula fruit makes a popular beer and is used in the production of a liqueur that has done well on the international market.
The one-day Brondal Avocado Festival held in Nelspruit is a good showcase of the region’s many varieties. Nelspruit’s Lowveld Agricultural Show in late July is a major date on the agricultural calendar.
Tobacco
There are more than 1 000 tobacco growers in South Africa, producing approximately 34 million kilograms of tobacco per year. Much of this production, especially Virginia tobacco, occurs in the north-western parts of Mpumalanga and in neighbouring Limpopo.
Nuts
With KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga produces almost all of South Africa’s high-earning nuts like pecan nuts and macadamia nuts. The provincial government has identified the latter as an area where it wishes to encourage investment. The possibilities for downstream beneficiation are many and varied.
Flowers and plants
Crops produced for export in Mpumalanga include cut flowers, pot plants and nursery plants. Snaps, lisianthus and delphiniums are among the flowers that thrive. The Yellow Arum Lily Festival is held annually in November in Roossenekal. Tulips are also cultivated in large quantities in this area.
Vegetables
The parts of Mpumalanga and the Free State province that are on the plateau produce 40% of South Africa’s potato crop between them. Potato seed is another product of Mpumalanga’s fertile soil, with one operation in the higher reaches of the Drakensberg range producing more than 2 000 tons of seed every year. Tomatoes, onions and cabbages are also farmed profitably.
Cotton
South Africa’s 2010 cotton crop is expected to be the lowest for 50 years, with a projected 39 500 bales (200kg) representing a 12% drop in production from 2009. Mpumalanga is a relatively minor producer in South African terms, but there are areas of the province where the crop is important. It is grown mostly under dryland conditions but there are some irrigation schemes. Cotton production is very labour intensive and therefore also an important source of employment. The bright light in cotton’s future is the potential of the Chinese market, where demand for the product is high and growing all the time.
Livestock
About 14% of the province’s land area is natural grazing land. Products include beef, mutton, poultry, dairy and wool. Livestock exports are increasing. The exportation of animal feed, food prodicts, trophies and curios brought in approximately R110-million in 2007.
Dairy and poultry do well in the southern parts of the province. A number of poultry-production companies have large facilities in the Standerton-Volksrust area. The town of Ermelo is the centre of one of the country’s most important sheep-farming districts, with the export of wool greatly benefiting the province and country.
The province is also home to one of South Africa’s largest pig farms, Kanhym, near Middelburg. Goats are an important source of protein and milk for much of the rural population and the raising of goats is widespread, especially in traditional areas.
Agri-processing opportunities
Agri-processing is an excellent means to create employment and promote entrepreneurship. Mpumalanga’s rich natural resources lend themselves to agri-processing opportunities: fruit-juice blending, sugar by-products, processing of sauces, oils, confectioneries, canned products and cattle feed. Another potential profitable avenue is in organic production. The global trend towards natural and organic production is gathering steam
and has increased demand for some organic niche products produced exclusively in South Africa. South African essential oils and herbs have proved popular for medicinal purposes abroad, as well as the tasty array of South African teas and health foods. A company situated on the N4 at Wonderfontein produces mono-dicalcium phosphate, used in animal feed.
Government priorities
The merger in 2009 of Mpumalanga’s three major provincial agencies into one, the Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency (MEGA), was designed to improve efficiency. The agricultural entity’s Enterprise Acquisition
Scheme was carried on by the new entity, with examples being the R6-million spent on funding a cattle- breeding and maize-production project in the Gert Sibande District and a R2-million poultry and grain crops scheme in Emakhazeni Municipality.
The provincial government allocated R737-million to its Department of Agriculture, Rural Development and Land Administration for the 2010/11 financial year. Among the department’s priorities that are supported
by national grants are:
• Ilima/Letsema project, which is designed to boost food production.
• Land Care Programme, Poverty Relief and Infrastructure Development. This programme aims to improve productivity and use natural resources as well as possible. The public works programme is envisaged as a way of providing employment through this grant.
• Comprehensive Rural Development Programme. The aim is to support emerging farmers through training and the provision of equipment. In the Mkhondo Municipality, a public-private partnership has achieved a number of milestones: 550 housing units constructed; household food production has been initiated; children
have been given access to early childhood development facilities and three mobile health clinics have been provided in remote rural areas.
Companies such as the Mondi Group, Vodacom and Bunengi Holdings joined with the provincial government in rolling out this project, which also entailed 290 young people receiving training through the Mpumalanga Regional Training Trust (MRTT) and the creation of more than a thousand jobs.
A similar scheme involving ARM Platinum’s Two Rivers mine has seen the establishment of a vegetable farm at Apiesdoring. The farm’s first crop was harvested in 2009 and with a business plan in place, access to markets has been organised. ARM Ferrous put more than R500 000 into an olive-tree project at Beeshoek, which has created 20 jobs.
The Masibuyele Emasimini programme is an initiative aimed at alleviating poverty by focusing on the utilisation of fallow land. Mechanisation is at the heart of the programme, with tractors being provided to poor communities to help them bring land to life. In the course of 2009/10, some 33 000 hectares of land were brought into production, assisting 37 210 households achieve a measure of food security.
The national Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) has allocated R100-million to Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal as the first step in an extensive process of seeing to it that small-scale and subsistence farmers receive tractors. National government has also pledged assistance with respect to local fresh-produce markets, processing facilities and additional market access for surplus produce created by subsistence farmers and smallholder producers. The broader aim is to connect these farmers with the established markets of commercial agriculture.
In April 2010, DAFF announced the creation of a R6-billion development agricultural fund created by Old Mutual. Half of the fund’s capital will support projects in South Africa, the other half being dedicated to the rest of Africa. DAFF aims to assist 50 000 previously disadvantaged subsistence producers to become smallholder producers. Altogether, the national department has allocated an amount of R577.6-million for food security and agrarian reform.
Online resources
Agricultural Economics Association of South Africa: www.aeasa.org.za
Agricultural Research Council: www.arc.agric.za
AgriSA: www.agriinfo.co.za
Citrus Growers Association: www.cga.co.za
Deciduous Fruit Producers Trust: www.dfpt.co.za
Fresh Produce Exporters’ Forum: www.fpef.co.za
Mpumalanga Department of Agriculture, Rural Development and Land Administration: www.mpu.agric.za
National Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries: www.daff.za
Organics South Africa: www.oaasa.co.za
Perishable Products Export Control Board: www.ppecb.com
