DAFFOfficial newsletter of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

May 2015

The Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, General Bheki Cele was the main guest during a live broadcast with Ukhozi FM Ezanamuhla where he addressed issues around the roadmap within the agricultural sector following the SoNA pronouncement. The live broadcast was held in the Umkhanyakude District Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal.

The day’s event involved two sessions - a live broadcast and an Imbizo at which all stakeholders were invited to further engage with the Deputy Minister and principals.

The Deputy Minister was accompanied by the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisher-ies Local Mayor, Bethuel Mthethwa and the KwaZulu-Natal MEC of Agriculture and Rural Development, Cyril Xaba. The purpose of the event was to have a semi-staged discussion between the Deputy Minister and stakeholders during the live broadcast. The reason for this was to in-form and get communities involved with matters relating to the agricultural sector.

During the live broadcast, the Deputy Minister covered an array of issues of which the audience had the opportu-nity to address him on. He discussed the mandated objectives that the department has in contributing to food security, job

By Musa Khumalo

creation and the country’s economy. He also touched on the freshwater fish farming initiative that was put in place by the department to better implement poli-cies moving forward, such as Operation Phakisa, which deals with exploring the ocean economy.

The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Local Mayor, Bethuel Mthethwa, mentioned the region’s current position in terms of contributing to the country’s economy highlighting the 1 million hectare initia-tive.

‘‘We are currently mandated as a nation to use 1,5 million hectares that will con-tribute to the National Development Plan to move our production percentages from the current 4% to 6%. To this end, we as a region in and around Richards Bay have identified potential areas for harvesting,’’ the Local Mayor, Bethuel Mthethwa said.

MEC Cyril Xaba, in support of the Deputy Minister’s visit to the Umkhanyakude Dis-trict Municipality, emphasised the people’s rights to know what the government is do-ing to better their lives in terms of livestock and its potential markets. He also took the time to highlight the challenges that the area was facing within regard to vaccina-tion and slaughtering of their livestock.

‘‘Foot-and-mouth disease is the preva-lent sickness that affects livestock farmers in the area. We have been working closely with DAFF to ensure the containment of the disease. It is also my pleasure to announce that an abattoir is underway in our district to ensure the safe slaughtering of our livestock,’’ said MEC Cyril Xaba.

In closing, the Deputy Minister stressed the importance of vegetable farming in or-der for communities to sustain themselves and that these engagements between the government and the people will continue to foster good working partnerships.

‘‘As government, especially the Depart-ment of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, in order to reach our key objectives, we urge communities to return back to the land. What we mean is that there is no need for families to go to bed hungry if we make the commitment today to invest in ourselves, come together and use fallow land to produce vegetable gardens like we used to; this will alleviate hunger. It is important to know that government is not here to do everything for you but instead work together with you to better the lives of all community members, and in doing so, we move South Africa forward,’’ the Deputy Minister said.

General Bheki Cele addressed issues following SoNA

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Editor Piwe Mbiko (012) 319 6936 piwem@daff.gov.zaReporters Thuli Lehong (012) 319 7929 nokuthulale@daff.gov.za Samuel Kgatla (012) 319 7181 samuelk@daff.gov.za Musa Khumalo (012) 319 6695 musak@daff.gov.za Innocent Mhlanga (012) 319 7827 innocentm@daff.gov.za Rony Moremi (012) 319 6622 rincertm@daff.gov.za Jamela Nkanyane (012) 319 6903 jamelan@daff.gov.za Mercia Smith (012) 319 6666 mercias@daff.gov.zaInterns Zama Buthelezi (012) 319 6958 ZamaB@daff.gov.za Dimakatso Modise (012) 319 7819 DimakatsoMo@daff.gov.zaSubeditor Lerato Mofokeng (012) 319 7927 leratomof@daff.gov.zaDistribution Sheila Flockton (012) 319 7141 sheilaf@daff.gov.za Website: www.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 Communication Services, Private Bag

X144, PRETORIA 0001.

Opinions expressed in 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,

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permission from the editor.

The Department of Agriculture, Forest-ry and Fisheries, through its hardwork-ing Deputy Minister General Bheki Cele, has made a significant progress to bring end attacks against foreign nationals to an end.

This comes after a fruitful outreach programme held at the Pongola Rugby Stadium on 30 April to demonstrate the serious nature with which the department views the recent violent attacks against foreign nationals.

Thousands of people led by General Cele, mayors, council-lors, priests, farmers, farming organisations and the public led an anti-xenophobic march from a taxi rank to the rugby field in Pongola to show South Africans and the world that the xenophobic attacks were not an indicator of the state of the country. Xenophobic attacks sparked in KwaZulu-Natal and later spread through some parts of Gauteng. Prior the march, the General and his entourage visited Mvutshini Estates farm to assess the condition of the farm and how Africans were treated.

General Cele condemned the attacks on African brothers and reiterated that enough is enough with the violent attacks on other Africans.

“For us being here, I think there was an instruction from the

By Samuel Kgatla

End attacks against foreign nationals

presidency urging all government leaders to work with their stakeholders to deal with the violent attacks on foreign nationals in the sector and that is why we started with our visit to Mvutshini Estates farm. I am glad that the attacks have not spread to

the farms, however that does not mean it may not happen. We must come up with preventative measures to make sure it does not happen. I am happy because all different representatives in farming are well represented. You cannot have a

non-African in Africa. Africa is for all Africans. The atmosphere is good here and the situation seems stable. I do not think that there is a farm without a foreigner in the country. What we must do is to document all foreign nationals and it shall help the country a lot,” he said.

Moreover, he mentioned that DAFF must work very hard to reduce hunger in the country and serve the nation to ensure that issues of food security, food safety and job creation are well taken into considera-tion.

The Mayor of uPhongolo Municipality, Mashiya Hadebe thanked the people of Pongola for not engaging in the at-tacks against foreign nationals. “Please, people; stop this vio-lence against our brothers. We must do farming together here in Pongola. I must mention that the participation of youth in farming is minimal in this area and we need collaboration with people like the General to help our emerging farmers,” concluded Hadebe.

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End attacks against foreign nationals

The Imbizo Focus Week is a hightened period of communication aimed at strengthening mutually beneficial interaction and engagement as well as progressive partnership between government and communities.This week will serve to highten communication in all communities of the pronouncements made by the President during the SoNA on the 12th February 2015. The focus week will be guided by the theme “Together we move South Africa forward,” aimed at promoting partnership and transforming the country into a better place for all to live in.This Imbizo Focus Week is happening in an environment where some communities have lost faith in government and its programmes. There are protests in several communities where people are demanding better service delivery.

Imbizo Focus Week Imbizo Focus Week Imbizo Focus Week Imbizo Focus Week

Together we move South Africa forward

A significant outcome of the visit to Newcastle was the offer by a farm to contribute to the government’s land reform programme. Community members admitted that people have obtained land through the land redis-tribution programme but some are not skilled in farming, therefore, farming land is left wasted.

Cas Joubert, one of the partners in the ALS Farm in Newcastle said they would like to sell 75% of the shares of the farm for the purpose of land reform. However, the owners will remain in the management of the farm. This offer includes training of emerging farmers in partnership with the local College of Agriculture.

The Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Senzeni Zokwana told the gathering that “We can overcome hunger if we work together in farming.’’

The people highlighted a few issues to the Minister, which included availability of farming land, water, grazing land and fencing around the land currently used for farming activities.

Another visit to Mpumalanga was with the purpose of listening to the farming community, to see how forestry projects in the province are growing and how they can contribute to the country’s Gross Domestic Product.

The aim of this visit was to use the Matsino Business Enterprise, owned by Mrs Thandi Mokwena to showcase the benefits of implementing the forestry pro-gramme in a quest to realise sustainable

Newcastle

Amapondo

Koukamma

Ncera farms

White River

While the Minister did not dispute the issues raised, he reprimanded the com-munity members who misuse and steal equipment and material such as tractors and fencing provided by the government to the community.

Another issue discussed was emerging farmers’ struggle to access loans from credit providers because they either cannot afford the interest and repayment or often do not have security to cover the loan.

Newcastle

By Jamela Nkanyane

White River

forest management, including contribution to food security within the context of the government’s land reform programme, translating into a female-led business.

Mokwena said she struggles with ma-chinery for harvesting but currently has 350 hectares under forestry plantation.

This province is blessed with men and women who are eager to feed their fami-lies through subsistence farming. Some would like to commercialise their products. However, a few matters seem to hinder them from fully achieving this goal. The common issues are water, fencing and access to farming land. In addition, ag-ricultural graduates in Mpumalanga are said to be idling with no work.

Land redistribution became the popular topic on the agenda. The community said they have applied to the Land Claim Com-mission. While some have started working on the redistributed land others have been struggling with administration of claims since 1998. However, representatives of the Commission in the Imbizo assured the concerned community that they were aware of the problem and it was being

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The Minister of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries, Mr Senzeni Zokwana with the Deputy Minister, General Bheki Cele invited members of the community to the final leg of the state proclaimed Imbizo Focus Week at Ncera Farms in East London, Eastern Cape.

This follows continued engagement between the Minister, Deputy Minister, the Deputy Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform Mcebisi Skwatsha and the leadership of Ncera Centre. So far there has been agreement that the Ncera Centre should be kept in its current state but the turn-around strategy that was developed in 2012 should be updated for resubmission to the National Treasury.

In a bid to emulate the national theme “Taking government to the people,” The Minister and the Deputy Minister invited members of the public, farmers and farm workers to join them in their continued en-gagement to reach solutions to the issues they are facing. The purpose of the public participation was for the community in and around Ncera to voice their challenges with the principals.

The Deputy Minister addressed the Ncera community, assuring them of the depart-ment’s support in making the Ncera Centre and its potential a reality.

“This is not our first engagement here in Ncera and it will definitely not be our last. We will continue meeting with relevant stakeholders in ensuring that the Ncera

By Musa Khumalo

The Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, on his second leg of the Imbizo Focus Week, visited the Amapondo Kingdom on request by the king to address the traditional leaders and community members of the area in Lusikisiki, Eastern Cape.

The Minister, accompanied by the East-ern Cape MEC Rural Development and Agrarian Reform of Mlibo Qoboshiyane and the Amapondo King Zanozuko Sig-cau, addressed the people during the Imbizo held at the Magwa Tea planta-tion, which is regarded as a high priority area.

‘Today we are hounored to have the Hounorable Minister here to address us. The purpose of his visit is that he may lis-

ten to our challenges and in his capacity, with our cooperation, find solutions. We also want to be able to know how we can benefit from our natural resources and be comforted by the resolutions,” said King Zanozuko Sigcau

The king also highlighted the missing funds from which farm workers haven’t been paid for the last 3 years and he asked the Minister to speak to the relevant departments to clarify the issue. He also mentioned the surrounding fallow lands which could to be used to harvest mixed crops instead of importing and have the potential to breed livestock.

The MEC, Mlibo Qoboshiyane, in sup-port of the Minister’s Imbizo acknowledged the challenges that had reached his office and also the potential thereof, mentioning that the plantation, when revived, has the possibility to open doors to tourism and other markets.

“Investigations are under way compris-ing of national and provincial research-ers to further investigate the issues. The infrastructure processing facility on the plantation was used back in the day as a sustaining plant for all areas around Lusikisiki and we implore government to come with intervention to ensure the quick process of reviving the plantation.With that said I’m confident that the Magwa Tea Plantation has the potential to meet the mandate of the department in achieving food security, job creation and contribu-tion to the economy,” said MEC Mlibo Qoboshiyane.

The Minister, in his closing remarks, pledged to engage with the relevant de-partments to ensure that the challenges, facilities and projects he was shown, such as the Magwa Tea Plantation and Lambesi Fenced Project, are addressed to improve the lives of community members in the Amapondo region.

‘It’s not one department’s effort but an intergovernmental effort. What this means, is as government we will ensure all relevant departments are engaged so

attended to. One successful claim is the Emalangeni

Community Claim of 1100 hectares. The Trustee Secretary, Peter Ndlovu said the land was transferred to the trustee in July 2014 and they have since been practic-ing forestry activities. The project will also receive funding to improve the state of the farm.

Ndlovu further pleaded with government to implement a farming project which will include an agro-processing and a packing house to boost youth employment.

The Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, General Bheki Cele told the gathering that it would be easier for government to assist communities in farming if they formed cooperatives, espe-cially in the case where they would need inputs like tractors and other machinery. He also advised the province to gather a database of all cooperatives and assess their needs.

By Jamela Nkanyane

AMapondo

that we can come up with sustainable so-lutions. We thrive for partnerships so that research and implements set in place to uplift the functioning of the areas in and around the Magwe Tea Plantation,’ said the Minister.

Ncera farms

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Together we move South Africa forward

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Centre becomes a fully fledged facility,” the Deputy Minister said.

The Minister in his key note address reit-erated the mandate set by President Jacob Zuma when he said that agriculture is a driver for growth and food security. There-fore, it is the department’s responsibility to ensure that food security, job creation and contribution to the GDP is realised.

“The Ncera Centre is an entity that should supply services to communities in and around the Ncera area. It is essen-tial that the neighbourhood understands and knows that DAFF has an entity called Ncera Farms (Pty) LTD, which is in the main livestock improvement arm of the depart-ment. In this knowledge, traditional leaders and their communities in working together with government through partnership, will be vital for the success of the centre,’ the Minister said.

Imbizo Focus Week Imbizo Focus Week Imbizo Focus Week Imbizo Focus Week

Koukamma

By Musa Khumalo

“It is such a beautiful area with so much potential that it makes me sad to know that there are people who sleep hungry with all this beauty around them,” Mr Senzeni Zokwana, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said.

The Imbizo was held in Koukamma, close to the Tsitsikama Forest. A number of recent engagements were held in the Tsit-sikamma area in respect of the Minister’s intervention to support local economic development, job creation and poverty alleviation.

Five key areas of intervention were iden-tified, namely:

Support to small-scale farmers,•Exploitation of workers in the fisher-•ies sector,Retraining of the retrenched forestry •staff,

Access to the Tsitsikamme Marine Pro-•tected Area for fishing purposes,Need to review rebates to farmers to •produce.

The Minister then spoke about the im-plementation of the Small-Scale Fisheries Policy and how the implementation proc-ess will impact on fishing communities in the area.

The Small-Scale Fisheries Policy was developed in 2012 in recognition that a number of traditional fishers have been marginalised in previous right’s allocation processes.

Extensive consultation was conducted with stakeholders, including stakeholders in the National Economic Development and Labour Council, in order to develop the policy. The Policy makes provision to redress the inequalities of the past by not only providing equuitable access to marine resources by traditional fishers, but also to ensure government support to address food security, poverty alleviation and socio-economic development in these By Mercia Smith

fishing communities.However, in order for the policy to be

implemented it required that an imple-mentation plan had to be developed and the Marine Living Resources Act had to be amended to acknowledge the new small-scale fishing sector.

Also Regulations had to be drafted to prescribe the implementation process and management measures that would pertain to the small-scale fishing sector.

If communities in the Tsitsikamme region want to be involved in the implementation process they must:

Provide input on the Draft Regulations by e-mailing it to ssfregs@daff.gov.za, or faxing to (021) 402 3622. Post it to small-scale Fisheries Regulations, Customer Service Centre, DAFF, Fisheries Manage-ment, P/Bag X2, Roggebaai 8012. It can also be delivered by hand to the Customer Service Centre, Fisheries Management in the Foretrust Building, Martin Hammer-schlag way, Cape Town.

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A Xhoza women group delivering an item during the Koukamma Imbizo.

Imbizo

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“No farmer will lose his land as a result of the Land Reform Policy,” said the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Mr Senzeni Zokwana, at the FERTASA (Fertilizer Association of Southern Africa) Annual Congress in Cape Town. He paid tribute to the fertiliser industry as the largest and one of the most important components to ensure that abundant and afford-able food is available for a growing population.

The government recognises that in order to continue to ensure food security in South Africa, we will need to work in a collaborative effort, he added.

“To this end I call on FERTASA to engage more frequently with me to address the challenges that the industry faces. There are already areas, particular regulatory issues, in which the industry and govern-ment collaborate. However, I wish we can do more in a collaborative manner concerning other issues such as:

Empowering small-scale farmers •to ensure their contribution to food security,Research and development,•Export of fertilisers to the rest of the •continent.”

“There is a need for all of us to com-mit ourselves to work together to address issues that are of mutual interest,” he emphasised.

Code of conduct“To establish the fertiliser industry as

a recognised and preferred body aimed at promoting the image of the industry, FERTASA (Fertilizer Association of South-ern Africa) has established an effective framework of self regulation. This includes subscription to a code of conduct and compliance audits, as well as subsequent accreditation for its members in compli-ance with international standards,” said Mr Adriaan de Lange, Chairman of FERTASA and MD of Omnia Fertilizer.

Presenting his annual report at the 55th FERTASA Congress in Cape Town, he said

Afri Compliance has been contracted to implement the code of conduct compli-ance. Once compliance has been con-firmed, a member will receive a certificate. The first certificate was handed to Tom Mason, CEO of Metson Manufacturing.

He said the purpose of the code of conduct compliance service is to create, sustain and monitor an ethical culture of compliance, integrity and trust within the fertiliser industry.

The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) has agreed to a separate Fertiliser Bill. Regulation of the fertiliser industry is necessary in order to protect the environment and consumers of food produced with fertiliser, and also to protect crop producers against dubious suppliers.

Proposed changes to the regulations of Act 36/1947 to control the use of zinc-ash as a key source in fertiliser products were presented to the Registrar.

FERTASA has also drafted guidelines for the registration of Group 3 fertilisers because no clear guidelines exist.

De Lange said members and non-members are being assisted with product registration applications for submission to the Registrar to cut delays.

Africa food potentialAdam Mostert, CEO of FERTASA, said

it is often claimed by various influential sources that Africa has the POTENTIAL to produce enough food to feed its popula-tion and leave a surplus for exports. The question is, what is being done to achieve this potential? The fact today is that peo-ple don’t eat potential. They eat what is actually produced. This is not enough, as millions on the African continent are starving and malnourished.

“Africa spends US$35 billion annually on food imports. There must be a change in food production. Without change, more will die of hunger. We cannot play the violin while Rome is burning.”

Mostert mentioned that he had recently

attended the African Green Revolution Forum in Addis Ababa hosted by the Kofi Annan Foundation. There, the following actionable steps were identified as need-ing urgent attention in order to achieve Africa’s food potential:

Expand the food and agribusiness •sector in Africa.Invest in critical infrastructure. Gov-•ernments must invest in agriculture, not because it is the right thing to do but because it is the smart thing to do.Implement policies to promote land •tenure security. If we want to raise productivity and sustainability, we need to ensure the security of land tenure in Africa. Increase access to financial services.•Prioritise climate solutions.•

ZambiaDr Guy Scott, MP (Lusaka) and former

acting President of the Republic of Zam-bia, said minimum tillage (MT) has the potential to increase maize yields in Zambia for smallholder and commercial farmers. Much research and develop-ment has been done to eliminate losses through late planting, inaccurate seeding, excessive weed competition, inaccuracy in placing nutrients and poor water re-tention. These can lead to yield losses of 65%.

“Commercial companies involved with synthetic fertilisers should take a keen interest in the broader context in which fertiliser is being used, especially by smallholder farmers, to secure a more efficient future.”

He added that much of the fertiliser distributed each year ends up in the hands of influential people, including civil serv-ants and the local political elite who are “fronted” by cooperatives whose mem-bers (smallholder farmers) do not get the fertiliser needs they are supposed to. Therefore, the fertiliser distribution leads

No farmer will lose his land, said Minister Zokwana

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From left: The Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Mr Senzeni Zokwana, MP; Jaco Raath, Director Industrial Commodities Holdings, Deputy Chairman FERTASA; Adriaan de Lange, Managing Director, Omnia Fertilizer, chairman of FERTASA; and Adam Mostert, the CEO.

to a minority of “medium-scale” farmers producing the larger share of the maize through corruption.

Subsistence farming is not the answer

Independent agricultural economist, Fanie Brink, stressed that the production of food by small subsistence farmers will never be the solution to food insecurity and poverty eradication in Africa. In many cases, they are struggling to make a living themselves. They never were the solution in the past. Neither will they be the solu-tion in future.

“No farmer in the world, irrespective of the size of his farm, can make a contribu-tion to food security if he cannot produce food profitably and sustainably. The time has now arrived for everybody involved in the process of achieving food security in Africa to acknowledge and accept this reality.”

There are an estimated 870 million undernourished people in Africa and it is shocking that 60% are actually small subsistence farmers. As far as South Africa is concerned, the generally accepted goals of the government, land distribution and the development of smallholder farmers on the one hand and food security on the other hand, can never be compatible. This is mainly because there is no possibil-

ity that smallholder farmers can make a meaningful contribution to food security if they cannot produce food profitably and sustainably, emphasised Brink.

Employment opportunities in agriculture

Any substantial farm employment growth will have to come from additional land under irrigation, from improved livelihoods and increased employment in the communal farming areas. Industries with the largest potential contribution to job creation are mostly irrigation-based, said Professor Nick Vink, Chairman of the Department of Agricultural Economy, University of Stellenbosch.

He added that South Africa currently cultivates about 13 million hectares of agricultural land. Available arable land amounts to approximately 15 million hectares. This leaves two million hectares, mostly in the former homelands, available for expansion.

“About 300 000 employment opportuni-ties can be created in the communal areas where close to 1,3 million households have access to land. The less labour-intensive field crop sector can potentially create 10 000 on-farm opportunities. In total, the number of primary and second-ary jobs created could top 900 000,” Professor Vink said.

The Fertilizer Association of Southern Africa (FERTASA) wants to promote responsible and sustainable soil fertility and plant nutrition through the credibility of the industry.FERTASA is a recognised and preferred body aimed at promoting the image of the fertiliser industry through:

Promoting the integrity •of each member and building preferential trust for their products and services.Enhancing and •protecting the interest of its members through effective engagement with government and organised agriculture.

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The agricultural, forestry and fisheries surveys collect and provide statistics on the farming, forestry and fisheries sectors respectively. Statistics on these sectors form the basis for planning, monitoring, evaluation, research and decision-making in both private and public institutions for the agricultural sector as a whole.

About the 2014 surveys The annual survey programme for agricul-ture consists of three surveys, namely:

The annual agriculture and related •services survey, 2014The commercial forestry/timber grow-•ers and related services sample survey, 2014The survey of ocean (marine) fisheries •and related services, 2014.

Information is collected from sampled enterprises involved in farming, forestry and fishing activities across South Africa. The surveys are conducted by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA).Collection methodThe data for the surveys are collected via e-mail, post or personal visits to the sam-pled business units across the country.Survey time frameThe three surveys are currently in progress and fieldwork will run until September 2015.ParticipationFor farming, only sampled business units that have been randomly selected from

Statistics South Africa’s (Stats SA) busi-ness register (BR) frame are allowed to participate in the survey. The forestry and fisheries surveys cover all business units in the forestry and fisheries sectors in the business register.ImportanceThe information collected is generally used to evaluate the commercial farming, forestry and fisheries sectors and specifi-cally to provide data to measure the con-tribution of the agricultural industry to the gross domestic product (GDP). Individual operators in these sectors utilise the survey results to position themselves relative to their respective industry. In addition, the collected data are used for the evaluation and compilation of the following:

Food security•Green economy•Environmental studies.•

ConfidentialityThe Statistics Act (Act No.6 of 1999) protects all information collected. All information collected is treated as strictly confidential and will not be furnished to any other person or organisation. A fine of R10 000 or imprisonment of up to six months or both is the penalty for a Stats SA official who is found guilty of contra-vening this Act.What kind of information is collected by the surveys?The 2014 survey questionnaires need to be completed for the reference period 1

July 2013 to 30 June 2014. Data col-lected include:

Income generated per sector•Employment •Expenditure, including purchases•Book value of assets•Losses incurred.•

Did you know?The farming survey questionnaire is avail-able in English and Afrikaans.

The commercial agricultural sector generated a total income of R182 980 million in 2013. This reflects an increase of 11,3% compared to 2012 (R164 363 million).

Similar to 2012, the largest sales in 2013 were generated from animal and animal products (R87 291 million), fol-lowed by horticultural products (R37 693 million), field crops (R37 148 million) and other income (R20 847 million).

In 2013, field crops recorded the high-est increase (18,5%) compared to 2012, followed by horticultural products with 17,4%. Animals and animal products recorded the lowest increase (5,4%).

For questionnaire enquiries, please contact: Sally Wheeler (012) 310 4632 Email: SallyWe@statssa.gov.zaMasego Mekwa: (012) 336 0232 Email: MasegoMe@statssa.gov.za

For technical enquiries, please contact: Tshepo Pekane: (012) 310 8191 Email: TshepoP@statssa.gov.za

Website: www.statssa.gov.za

Participation in the Agricultural, Forestry and Fisheries Annual Surveys

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A simple idea to use existing envi-ronmental and oceanographic nu-merical models and data to create an early-warning system that could help prevent drowning along the Western Cape coast, has developed into a com-prehensive tool that is already proving popular and useful among False Bay fishermen.

The tool, an SMS Coastal Early Warning System that combines climate, weather, ocean current and wave data sets to create detailed nine hour short-term forecasts, can provide fishermen on small fishing vessels with accurate information relating to current strength and direction, wave height, direction and frequency as well as wind speed and direction.

“We wanted to see how we could use existing technology to empower local com-munities by warning them of approaching rough sea conditions to help prevent drownings along the coast,” says Dr Chris-to Rautenbach, a senior CSIR researcher . “The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) advised us that large numbers of drowning incidents concerning swimmers are a result of alcohol abuse while rock fishermen often knowingly take big risks when fishing on exposed rocky areas. So we decided to focus on creating an early warning sys-tem for small commercial fishing vessels that are particularly vulnerable to sudden worsening sea conditions.”

False Bay was chosen as a pilot site for the system because it has a thriving com-mercial fishing community.

The CSIR has created a mathematical, numerical model that uses satellite and model data from the US’s National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) as boundary conditions and incorporates CSIR spatial varying wind forecasts and existing CSIR oceanographic models in order to create an accurate, holistic spatial wave and flow climate model for the entire False Bay area.

“The model that we built takes most abiotic environmental, weather and oceanographic data into account and is therefore quite comprehensive and has so far proven to be reasonably reliable,” says Rautenbach.

“We get new information on wave, cur-rent and wind measurements every three hours. Therefore, every three hours the model can provide us with a new nine-hour forecast for ocean and wind condi-tions in False Bay.”

A pilot study is currently underway to test the accuracy of the system and to make the necessary calibrations to the model.

The CSIR met with members of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and local fishermen from False Bay, where fishermen were briefed and trained on how to use the system and provide helpful feedback.

“The system is very easy to use. The fishermen simply send an SMS code to a specific number and within seconds they receive an SMS reply with the latest prediction for False Bay’s current strength and direction, wave heights and direction and wind conditions, as well as what the

forecast will be for the next nine hours,” says Rautenbach.

“We have interns who phone the fisher-men every day to ask a set of questions to determine how accurate the predictions were compared to the actual experience out on the ocean, to ask whether the fisher-men are noticing any patterns of over- or under-prediction and to ask whether the data was useful.

“Because the system provides them with accurate information on the strength and direction of sea currents at the surface as well as at the bottom of the bay, the fishermen have begun to use the SMS’s to better plan their fishing practices. For this reason, the SMS system is proving quite popular.”

The SMS format was chosen because it creates a simple, affordable and quick communication system – and because fishermen don’t often take smartphones or tablets out on the ocean.

“In time, we want to create an app that uses the same data to provide recreational swimmers and surfers, as well as members of the public, with more accurate coastal forecasts.”

Innovative SMS Coastal Early Warning System

Innovative SMS Coastal Early Warning System proving popular among False Bay fishermen.

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May 2015 DAFFnews No. 5 10

Sector

The Department of Agriculture, For-estry and Fisheries, through the Direc-torate: Animal Health held a Listen-ing Campaign on the Risk Analysis: Importation of Sable Antelope from Zambia at the Auditorium - Old Faculty Building of Veterinary Science, Onde-stepoort, Pretoria.

The Listening Campaign comes after the department was taken to court over their decision not to allow the importation of cloven-hoofed animals from countries that are not recognised as being free of Foot-and-mouth disease by the World Or-ganization for Animal Health (OIE). After a court settlement which was done in Febru-ary 2014 the department was ordered to conduct a risk analysis on the importation of sable antelope from Zambia according to the OIE guidelines, including a full risk communication process.

In complying with this process of consul-tation, a draft risk analysis was circulated for comment and a two-day meeting was held so that industry stakeholders can voice their concerns.

The presentations heard involved differ-ent issues concerning the overall health of these sable animals, seeing that they were held in isolation in the west of Zambia for over five years and the economical impli-cation with special focus on the capacity, or lack thereof, of importing the antelope into the country.

Dr Dewald Keet, a private veterinarian, made a presentation on the biosecurity principles, giving a breakdown about the health status (tick control success) of the animals in Zambia, citing that the facility maintenance was good. “I visit the facility twice a year and from my observations I can safely say that the overall health of the animals is close to 100% free,” said Keet.

Other presenters presented on the overall impact this importation may have, considering the consequences that this decision could have on the country. “I

emphasise that it should be scientifically founded and the overall decision must be sound for all interested parties,” said Pieter Vervoort, Chairperson of a National Health Forum.

The department aims to develop a policy which will encompass all the presentations submitted and to make the final decision on the assessment which Dr Mpho Maja, Director: Animal Health reiterated.

Importation of Sable Antelope from Zambia Listening CampaignBy Musa Khumalo

‘‘This meeting’s objective is for DAFF to assess the possible impact, both positive and negative, which these imports or lack thereof will have on industry stakeholder’s livelihoods. The department plans to con-solidate all comments from the stakehold-ers into the final Risk Analysis Policy and in so doing will again circulate that draft for any other comment before the policy can be authenticated,” said Dr Maja.

The sable antelope is an antelope which inhabits wooded savannah in East Africa south of Kenya, and in Southern Africa.

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No. 5 DAFFnews May 2015 11

Sector

As the premier science institution for conducting research, developing hu-man capital and fostering innovation in support of the agricultural sector, the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) is doing its part to support smallholder farmers.

During the 2013/14 annual report launch, the CEO and President of the ARC, Dr Shadrack Moephuli emphasised the importance of effective interactive changes with farmers, especially smallholder farm-ers and resource-poor enterprises.

The CFO of the ARC, Mr Gabriel Maluleke mentioned that research and development investments showed high re-turn with some of the success stories being the training of farmers to increase yields. He said 2000 farmers have been trained in Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal to integrate cotton production in a rotation system. This system helped farmers achieve 8% production of the total of South Africa’s cotton crop.

Building on the successful training of farmers last year, the ARC together with Mpumalanga Departments of Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environ-

mental Affairs embarked on a two week intensive training of 300 smallholder farm-ers in Mpumalanga. Farmers were trained on crop production, animal production, farm management and mechanisation. The objective of the training was to assist smallholder farmers to be more self-reliant and to participate in the mainstream economy without government support.

A group of smallholder farmers who were trained at the ARC Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute were taught the im-portance of primary animal health and nutrition. Farmers were told that primary animal health is the most important aspect of livestock farming; it is basic care of animals.

Daniel Marumo of the ARC said a lot of diseases can be prevented by practicing good hygiene standards, animal husbandry, as well as good management practices. He also encouraged farmers to observe their livestock daily, keep a record of vaccines given and observe good nursing care. He said it is important to identify diseases early through good daily observation of livestock such as checking the head of the animal,

ARC farmer trainingBy Rony Moremi

The Free State fire season is approach-ing fast and Free State Agriculture would like to encourage our members to be organised to handle any fires that might occur in their regions and to keep their workers informed about the dangers of open fires.

Workers should also be informed to speedily report any fires that they might come across.

According to information supplied by the Clarens Fire Association (CFA) they fought two big fires last year, with the

its movement, rumination, and defecation. He said observing these simple steps daily will help farmers detect sick animals early and take necessary steps.

Farmers were also taught about animal nutrition—how a well-balanced diet af-fects breeding and production. Dr Minkie Masimege, a state vet from Pietermaritz-burg said it all starts with good nutrition because you cannot vaccinate a sick animal. A healthy animal will reproduce well, for example, a breeding bull needs energy and good semen for fertilisation, she said. Well-fed sheep will produce more good quality wool and well-fed chickens will produce more eggs. She said poor nutrition will lead to a loss of money on vaccines. She encouraged farmers to not imitate what other farmers do without hav-ing proper knowledge.

Elly Mboweni, a livestock farmer from Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga said the training helped him learn new things and also correct those that he has been do-ing wrong. He said it will help him share what he learned with other neighbouring farmers.

areas affected that were five times the size of the areas affected in the fires that occurred in the Western Cape in March this year. The Association fought these fires with the help of volunteers, 100 Working-on-Fire fire fighters and two municipal water tank units. They had to organise aircraft to help the process on their own. For the fires in the Western Cape several government agencies pro-vided funds for 900 fire fighters and 27 aircraft to fight fires.

Fire season approaching fast

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May 2015 DAFFnews No. 5 12

Sector

CapeNature and the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) are excit-ed to announce the discovery of a population of Critically Endan-gered Riverine Rabbits, Bunola-gus monticularis in the Anysberg Nature Reserve near Laingsburg last week. These rabbits repre-sent the f irst population to be discovered in a formally pro-tected area.

Up until now this Critically En-dangered species occurred exclu-sively on privately owned farmland or pr iva te re -serves, where landowners have been working with conservation authorities and NGOs to ensure their survival.

Riverine Rabbits have occurred along the seasonal rivers in the Nama Karoo since the turn of the last century, but were only discovered in the Western Cape’s Succulent Karoo in 2004. While much work has been done on the Nama Karoo population by the EWT, little is known about the rabbit’s habitat preferences and biology in the Succulent Karoo.

Search in AnysbergCorné Claassen, CapeNature’s Con-

servation Service Manager and Marius Brand, Anysberg Reserve Manager, led a determined search in Anysberg for this species on the night of 5 December. Their persistence paid off and a young River-ine Rabbit was captured, therefore not

Riverine Rabbits discovered in protected area

only confirming the presence of Riverine Rabbits in the reserve, but also that the population is reproductively active. After collecting genetic samples, the rabbit was safely released. Christy Bragg, Manager of the EWT’s Drylands Conservation Programme (EWT-DCP) was ecstatic on receiving the news. Bragg said the EWT and CapeNature have been working closely together in the Western Cape to learn more about this iconic Karoo species and it is wonderful to find these elusive rabbits in new territory.

Klein KarooAnysberg lies in the Klein Karoo and is

just over 81 000 ha in size. The reserve was established in 1987 to conserve the local veld type and to eventually re-introduce game species that historically occurred in this region. The Anys, Touws, Prins and Buffels Rivers and tributar-

ies of the Gourits River system flow through the re-serve.

The EWT-DCP has trialled the use of camera traps to census River-ine Rabbit popu-lations and will be launching a full-scale study in 2015. Ultimately the cameras will be used to not only detect the presence of this shy species, but to also provide sufficient data to determine popu-lation densities and therefore also trends in popula-tion numbers over time.

This species is endemic to the Nama- and Succulent Karoo, and serves as an important indicator species for riverine habitat health.

Members of the public are requested to report possible sightings of Riverine Rabbits to Christy Bragg at christyb@ewt.org.za or on 082 332 5447, or Corné Claassen at cclaassen@capenature.co.za or 023 6251621.

The EWT-DCP’s Riverine Rabbit Project is supported by the Altron Group, Lindt Chocolatiers, Mazda Wildlife Fund, Rand Merchant Bank, Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, Koos and Rona Rupert Opvoedkundige Trust, National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund, Zoological Society for the Conservation of Species and Populations (ZGAP), Sean Williams Living Creatures Trust, and many individuals, farmers and partners.

Riverine Rabbits have occurred along the seasonal rivers in the Nama Karoo since the turn of the last century, but were only discovered in the Western Cape’s Succulent Karoo in 2004.

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