Best Practices for Organic Policy - What developing country - UNEP

Agriculture conditions
Annex 6. South Africa
South Africa, with its apartheid history, still suffers from a dual economy, and this is particularly true
of agriculture. In the 20th century, 60,000 white commercial farmers were heavily subsidized by the
State. Of these, 3,000 highly efficient farmers produced 40 per cent of the Gross Agricultural Product,
while another 10,000 produced a further 40 per cent 75 . Other farmers made little profit, or in many
cases substantial losses, but they were supported by low interest loans. Much of the indigenous
agricultural tradition was destroyed by the British colonial and South African nationalist
administrations. Land reform is a priority of the new democratic Government, and although the
practical support for emerging commercial farmers is often poorly implemented, slow but steady
progress is being made 76 .
A second factor affecting South African agriculture is the arid to semi-arid nature of the country.
Although the eastern seaboard is reasonably well watered, the further west one travels, the drier the
country becomes. Typically, the sub-tropical east coast enjoys annual precipitation of 900–1200 mm
(forestry, sugar, vegetables, dairy, tropical fruit); the central rain-fed cropping areas have 600–900
mm (maize, sheep, beef cattle, goats, wheat); while the arid west has annual rainfall of 300–900 mm
(sheep, goats, with pockets of fruit, tobacco, cotton, groundnuts, mohair and Rooibos tea). Only 3 per
cent of the country’s 122 million ha can be irrigated, and more than half of this is already developed
(about 14 per cent of the total is arable). Maize is the staple food. Although the overall contribution of
agriculture to the Gross Domestic Product has fallen steadily from the middle of the 20th century,
agricultural exports have risen sharply over the past 12 years (US$ 0.4 million in 1992; US$ 2.2
million in 2002 77 ). In spite of this, there has been a dramatic exodus of skilled agricultural workers
from the sector 78 , with totals dropping from 1.7 million in 2000 to 1.2 million in 2003.
Organic agriculture
Within this context, organic farming, too, suffers from the “dual economy” syndrome. Whereas in
1970 there were fewer than 20 certified organic farmers and about 50 small-scale organic gardeners
actively involved with Bio-Dynamic or Organic Associations, all of these were South Africans of
European origin, except for one, the notable Zulu organic pioneer, Robert Mazibuko. He inspired
many young South Africans, black and white, to become involved in organic farming, and to build on
the African tradition of organic farming. Many traditional farmers were still organic, carrying on with
the indigenous traditional knowledge which is part of the African heritage. However, much of this
tradition had been deeply damaged by limitations on land ownership (first imposed by the British in
1897, under the Glen Grey Act, which forbade black South Africans to own more than four ha of
land), and the whole apartheid land deprivation, which saw 13 per cent of the land allocated to over
80 per cent of the people.
Organic farming among white farmers grew from its low base in 1970 to about 50 small commercial
organic farmers farming actively by 1990. In 1993, the first organic farmers were certified, by the
United Kingdom Soil Association, and the export market developed, with a few large commercial
enterprises exporting avocadoes, tropical fruit, and later Rooibos tea, wine and some seasonal
vegetables. By 2001, the number of certified farmers had risen to 291, covering over 200,000 ha of
land, most of which was extensive grazing land in the dry Karoo. A survey established that at that
stage, approximately 25,000 ha of arable land was certified organic 79 .
75 Land Policy: Towards sustainable development, 1990. RMB Auerbach, Indicator South Africa: Policy
Review, vol. 8 no. 1, University of Natal, Durban.
76 National Skills Development Strategy Implementation Report, 2003/04. Dept of Labour, Pretoria.
77 Ibid. p.238.
78 National Skills Development Strategy Implementation Report, 2003/4. Dept of Labour, Pretoria.
79 Organic Farming: A world revolution in agriculture, 2001. R Auerbach in Farmers Weekly.
75