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CHAPTER 1
at that stage to harvest groundnuts in the traditional way than with the available
mechanic solutions. Consequently, a lot of producers left the industry.
Since the early 2000s mechanical harvesting processes were imported, which
made it possible to deliver groundnuts in bulk and save on labour costs. The
mechanical harvesting process also increased the average grading of the pro-
ducers, with more choice and miscellaneous grade than was delivered by the
traditional process.
However, the mechanisation equipment needed was very expensive and could
rarely be afforded by smaller producers. The process also requires different
infrastructure than the traditional method. This includes facilities for the bulk
receipt and handling of groundnuts, as well as dryers able to dry the groundnuts
harvested mechanically to the required moisture content.
Production areas
In certain areas of South Africa, specifically the northern and eastern areas,
groundnuts are quite often planted by small farmers for personal use, because it
is an important source of nutrition in those areas. For commercial use, groundnuts
are mostly cultivated in the western summer rainfall areas of the country, both
under irrigation and dryland. During the period from 2008 to 2013, approximately
36% of South Africa’s groundnuts were produced in the western and north west-
ern parts of the Free State, with approximately 30% in North West and 28% in the
Northern Cape.
Graph 23 shows the distribution of groundnut production in the different provinces
of South Africa for the period from 1993/1994 to 2013/2014.
Aflatoxin
High aflatoxin levels in groundnuts are one of the biggest risks of the groundnut
industry. Aflatoxin is a fungus that spreads quickly, particularly in groundnuts with
a high moisture content, if it is not managed properly. Internationally the tolerance
levels for aflatoxin contamination are very strict in order to manage the risks for
human consumption. This increases the risk with the exporting of groundnuts. The
contamination of the groundnuts can be countered by blanching, but this is associ-
ated with high costs.
In order to restrict the spreading of aflatoxin, all processing infrastructures in
South Africa have to adhere to stringent requirements from the Department of
ႇႇ
Cultivation of groundnuts.