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CHAPTER 4
Sheep Project
One of the projects NAMPO launched was a model for diversification and speciali-
sation, the so-called Sheep Project, which was aimed at illustrating practically how
cultivated pastures, specifically blue buffalo grass and dryland lucerne, can be
used for sheep farming on marginal land.
NAMPO allocated low-potential land on its existing property outside Bothaville
that could not really be used for any other purpose to the Sheep Project and
planted dryland lucerne on it. In addition, NAMPO purchased an adjacent piece
of land where blue buffalo grass had been established. Although it could actually
be regarded as two trials, it was managed as one project.
NAMPO obtained the co-operation of the Mutton Merino, Merino and German
Merino Breeders’ Associations for the project. The breeders’ associations provided
ewes for the breeding programme and the rams were provided by producers in the
Bothaville area. The ewe lambs from the project were delivered to the breeders’
associations, while NAMPO sold the wethers to contribute towards covering the
costs of the project.
The main aim of the project was to promote the integration of sheep on dryland pas-
ture and at the same time to illustrate that marginal land could be better utilised than
just for maize cultivation. The project was extremely successful and led to several
very successful sheep farms subsequently being established on planted pastures.
Land conversion scheme
On the back of the success achieved with the sheep project, negotiations were
conducted with the government to make funds available for withdrawing marginal
land from grain production and establishing alternative industries.
The main advocate and driver of the concept was Mr Cerneels Claassen, who was
an Executive Member of NAMPO at that stage, and later became the Chairperson
of NAMPO.
He recounts that the realisation developed that the area on which maize was
cultivated was too big and that the large quantity of maize that was produced had
a negative effect on the price of maize. At that stage about five million hectares
of maize were planted annually. The opinion was that it had to be scaled down by
about one million hectares.
At the NAMPO Congress of March 1987 Claassen made a submission on the effect
the conversion or withdrawal of one million hectares of maize land from cultivation
would have on the producer price of maize.
Congress accepted a proposal by Claassen that a committee be appointed to de-
sign a system in terms of which the withdrawal of that amount of land from maize
cultivation could be accomplished. The committee consisted of representatives
from NAMPO, the Maize Board, the SAAU, Uniegraan, the Department of Agricul-
ture and the National Marketing Council, with Claassen as Chairperson.
At a subsequent meeting of the Maize Board, at which the Minister of Agriculture,
Mr Greyling Wentzel, was present, final approval was given for the development
of a scheme for land conversion. The scheme involved that the government would
provide assistance for guided structural adjustments in the summer grain area
– in other words, land conversion. The particulars of the scheme were submitted
and explained to Mr Alwyn Schlebusch, the Deputy State President, who gave his
support to the scheme. It was then approved by the Cabinet.
The land conversion scheme was announced at a special NAMPO Congress in
Potchefstroom in September 1987 by Minister Wentzel. It was ultimately a very
successful project and about 750 000 ha of maize fields were withdrawn from
maize cultivation and converted to planted pastures. The land conversion project
actually provided many producers with a lifeline to get their farming operations on
a profitable foot again.
The land conversion project went hand in hand with a larger awareness cam-
paign by NAMPO in collaboration with certain suppliers about the value that an
THE SHEEP PROJECT
WAS MANAGED BY MR
ANDRÉ FERREIRA, SENIOR
ECONOMIST OF NAMPO,
WHO FARMED WITH SHEEP
AND CATTLE IN HIS
OWN RIGHT.