A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME

THE

GRAIN AND OILSEED INDUSTRY

OF SOUTH AFRICA – A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME

ႈ

By 2008 the Winter Cereal Trust was actively supporting developing farmers

through the work of Grain SA. They reported that progress was evident and

22 farmers were assisted by the Winter Cereal Trust and the Free State Depart-

ment of Agriculture. The key challenge remained the profitability of wheat pro-

duction in the Free State. Their support has also seen the establishment of a

provincial office in Paarl to service developing farmers in the Western Cape.

EARLY FARMER DEVELOPMENT BY GRAIN SA

Mr Cois Harman was appointed by Grain SA in 1999 to manage the programme

and organise appropriate skills training for the developing farmers. The first step

was the continuation of services to established study groups from the NOPO

era, and to proceed with the establishment of new study groups. Trial plots were

established to enable producers to see for themselves the advantages of best

practice production, the benefits of new cultivars, soil sampling and fertilisation,

as well as proper weed control. Special farmer days were held for larger groups

of farmers so they could learn about up-to-the-minute techniques. Study groups

form the foundation for communication between the farmers and the organisa-

tion, together with the radio broadcast which continued, and a monthly newslet-

ter,

Pula Imvula

, published in Tswana, Northern Sotho and Zulu.

The organisation was encouraged by the success of the projects being run and

the feedback from the farmers was enthusiastic. Evidence of project success

could already be measured in improved yields for example where sunflower

yields had been averaging 300 kg/ha – 500 kg/ha, farmers were already harvesting

in excess of 1 t/ha with some even harvesting over 2 t/ha. Maize crops had

improved with amazing yield results as a result of the farmers applying their

new-found knowledge and using improved seed cultivars, together with more

effective fertilisation and spray programmes.

One such farmer is Mr Lazarus Mothusi from Weltevrede in the North West. Today

he is a successful farmer and role model for others. He tells how as a beginner

farmer he used to harvest about 4 tons of sunflowers on 15 ha and thought he was

doing okay. He considers the day he met Harman in 1996 his lucky day. Harman

mentored him and invited him to attend Grain SA training sessions. He fully credits

Grain SA‘s farmer development initiative for his growth and success.

By 2002 the Grain SA programme was involved with 436 study groups which

comprised of 9 680 farmers altogether. Harman resigned in 2005 and was

succeeded by Ms Jane McPherson in September of that year.

Messrs Cois Harman (Development Officer of Grain SA) and Jub Jubelius (Executive

member of Grain SA), in front, explain the advantages of the correct usage of fertiliser to

Mr Paul Kgori, his cousin, Solomon Manato and Peter Solane.

MR COIS HARMAN

t was an advent§re to establish

st§dy g¢oups across the g¢ain

producing areas of the count¢®

as the need for t¢aining was inde-

scribably big. Mechanical courses

were presented in co-operation

with New Holland, while g¢ain

courses were desiged and pre-

sented in collaboration with ARC-

GCI. The g¢ain courses covered the

prime aspects of faring, includ-

ing soil sampling, soil preparation,

liming, crop and cultivar selection,

production practices, fer¥ilising,

as well as g¢ain marketing.

We approached t¢aining on a

regional basis and suppor¥ed it

with crop t¢ials planted per region

as the conditions, soils and climate

of regions differ. St§dy g¢oups

proved to be a ver® effective method

as a platfor to connect our mem-

bers with exer¥ise, enabling them

to develop and g¢ow independently.

From 2002 provincial manag-

ers were appointed to co-ordinate

development, organise farers’

days, facilitate t¢aining and to

provide one-on-one mentoring.

The most f§lfilling exerience for

me was to see farers prog¢ess

while they are learing.

PERSONAL DISCLOSURE