OVERVIEW Agriculture
OVERVIEW Agriculture Northern Cape products range from high quality pelts destined for the fashion halls of Europe to pecan nuts, thoroughbred horses, cattle, sheep, goats and game. SECTOR INSIGHT The provincial government plans several transformative mega-projects by 2032. • Gary Player’s farm near Colesberg is on the market for R50-million. • GWK Farm Foods’ R400-million agri- processing plant was opened at Modder River in 2016. Two of the Northern Cape’s most exclusive products are distributed via the capital of Denmark and the Italian fashion capital of Milan. Copenhagen is the site of the two auctions of karakul pelts that are held annually, karakul being a speciality of the Upington district. Glove-makers in Milan are among the international clients to whom farmers of the dorper sheep breed sell the wrinkle-free skins of their sheep, at good prices. Another exclusive niche in the agricultural landscape of the Northern Cape is horse stud breeding. This is a speciality of the area around Colesberg, where the cold evenings and warm days combine to drive out disease and promote strong growth. Among the studs are Henham and Southford, a 900ha property near the Gariep Dam which once was home to the famous stallion “Damask”. The farm that legendary golfer Gary Player called home for more than 40 years, Rietfontein, is on the market for R50-million. Buyers will get rather more than a house, with a nine-hole golf and 46 stables among some of the other attractions. Alongside these luxury sectors, the Northern Cape has vast herds of sheep and goats, cattle are bred in the north and the banks of the Orange River host superb vineyards. Irrigation schemes in the north-east of the province support a wide variety of crops. The production of groundnuts is increasing, with pecan very popular. The agricultural sector also plays a vital role in the broader economy of the Northern Cape, employing about 45 000 people. This represents about 16% of employment, a much higher figure than the national figure of 5.5% Occupying 36-million hectares, the Northern Cape is the largest province in the country, almost a third of South Africa’s total land area. Although the province is a predominantly semi-arid region, agriculture is a major component of the regional economy and the NORTHERN CAPE BUSINESS 2017/18 44
OVERVIEW province’s farmers contribute 6.8% to South African agriculture. Government plans The five mega-projects that the Northern Cape Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DARDLR) has committed to have the potential to draw many small-scale or emerging farmers into the agricultural value chain in a meaningful way. The DARDLR is looking for partners and investors from the public and private sectors to develop these schemes over the next 10-15 years. The projects are: • Namakwa Irrigation Development (centred on Onseepkans) • Rooibos development, including value-addition through the production of extract and aromas as a key value addition project • Vanderkloof Fisheries and Cape trout farming • Vaalharts Revitalisation (Ganspan) • Vineyards development scheme. Agri Parks is another initiative that is designed to promote inclusivity in agriculture and to grow agri-processing, particularly closer to where farmers farm. The concept brings together farmers, traders and agri-processors (such as abattoirs) in convenient sites within each district municipality. Within these parks, support for rural smallholders will be available in terms of equipment hire from a central source, storage facilities, packaging of produce and getting products to market. The agri-park intends to provide a network for farmers and manufacturers. There will also be wtraining available. The DARDLR has a programme to place unemployed agricultural graduates at land reform farms in the province to make sure that the farms are run well, at the same time giving the graduates hands-on experience. Agricultural development takes place along defined corridors within the province: In the Orange River Valley, especially at Upington, Kakamas and Keimoes, grapes and fruit are cultivated intensively. High-value horticultural products such as table grapes, sultanas and wine grapes, dates, nuts, cotton, fodder and cereal crops are grown along the Orange River. Wheat, fruit, groundnuts, maize and cotton are grown in the Vaalharts Irrigation Scheme in the vicinity of Hartswater and Jan Kempdorp. Vegetables and cereal crops are farmed at the confluence of the Vaal River and the Orange River in the vicinity of Douglas. Of the nearly 40-million 10kg bags of onions produced in South Africa (outside of linked production chains set up by supermarkets), about 10-million 10kg bags come from the Northern Cape. Wool, mohair, karakul, Karoo lamb, venison, ostrich meat and leather are farmed throughout most of the province. The province is second only to the Eastern Cape in terms of the number of sheep farmed and it is the fourth-largest wool-producing province based on annual sale of producer lots. The karakul-pelt industry is one of the most important in the Gordonia district of Upington. Agri-company KLK is the only organisation that handles these pelts in South Africa, which are sorted in Windhoek before being sent to Copenhagen for auction. 45 NORTHERN CAPE BUSINESS 2017/18
