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CHAPTER 8
WHO DOES THE GRAIN SA FDP ASSIST?
Early on the FDP’s management recognised that in Africa there are numerous forms
of land ownership systems. It was decided that it is unimportant what the farmer’s
relationship was to the ground he or she accessed. It was still appropriate to strive
to empower them to get the most out of the land they had access to. With the team
operating across awide area at grass roots levels they couldgather critical information
about developing farmers and their operations and they have gathered interesting
data on the programme members and how they access land. (It is interesting to note
that the level of expertise of the team is such that increasingly, outside stakeholders
including government departments had started to seek advice or information/data
from the Grain SA team.) For example, the 2011 study group statistics reveal much
about the nature of the farming operations and the diversity of access to land:
Study groups members
Total: 3 558
Land tenure
Hectares
Arable land
Total arable land
46 954
Own
Being used by farmer
17 456
Communal land (PTO)
Being used by farmer
12 831
Commonage land (Municipal)
Hired by farmer
1 890
Leased private land
4 451
PLAS (Land Affairs)
Being used by farmer
10 030
Grazing land
Total grazing land
119 829
Own
Being used by farmer
19 566
Communal land (PTO)
Being used by farmer
85 898
Commonage land (Municipal)
Being used by farmer
400
Leased private land
1 828
PLAS (Land Affairs)
Being used by farmer
12 138
GRAIN SA PROGRAMME
A basic point of departure fundamental to the functioning
of the Grain SA programme is:
DEVELOPMENT IS ABOUT THE INDIVIDUAL
Farmer development is NOT ONLY about land
Farmer development is NOT ONLY about machines
Farmer development is NOT ONLY about markets
Farmer development is NOT ONLY about money
Farmer development is NOT ONLY about
skills development and training
It is about all of the above
Development is a process and not a LEAP
(Programme Manager, Ms Jane McPherson)
Grain SA is not concerned with how a farmer accesses land or whether a farmer
produces off 1 ha or a 1 000 ha. The intention has been to ensure that optimal
production is achieved by usingmodern, economic and effective farmingmethods.
Regardless of the size of the farm, the basic principles remain the same. Quality
seed, soil sampling and accurate fertilisation and proper weed control. If a
person has 1 ha and, through learning how to use a hand planter with a piece of
knotted string to space the seed with a knapsack spray for weed control, they can
achieve 6 t/ha, it can make a huge impact – it can change the lives of producers.
Not everyone can access large hectares, but they can be taught best practise.
This is also the motivation behind the trials. They are planted in exactly the same
way as the locals plant. If they plant by hand, the trials are also planted by hand