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January 2018
to stressors, such as heat and drought, during critical stages of de-
velopment and to also, and in effect, enhance the yield potential of
the cultivars. The endeavour, however, is not to produce these gains
at the cost of quality, as the end product will still have to be suitable
for baking.’
Minister Pandor identified the Wheat Breeding Platform as a valuable
tool to help afford more smallholder farmers access to the industry.
Ms Preline Swart, a wheat producer who has evolved from produc-
ing wheat on 2 ha to over a thousand of rented hectares near Elim
in the Western Cape, echoed this, by saying the Wheat Breeding Plat-
form could help to ‘alter the course of history, by allowing farmers to
produce wheat more sustainably.’
The minister also sees the platform as a means to enhance food se-
curity, not only in South Africa, but the whole continent.
The use of new technologies and rising demand for food across
Africa and Asia, could drive rural growth, benefiting nearly one in
ten South Africans who depend on subsistence or smallholder
farming, according to the minister. As such, she estimated that
it could allow South Africa to triple exports and help alleviate
poverty in the rest of the continent. She also referred to a 2015
McKinsey report that found growth in agriculture to be twice
as effective at reducing poverty as growth in any other sector.
Partners in the Wheat Breeding Platform include Grain SA, the
Department of Science and Technology (DST), Stellenbosch Univer-
sity and all the local wheat breeding programmes.
Durham said the partnership signified a huge achievement that
would take up to eight years to realise its full potential, as that was
how long it took for a new cultivar to be developed and become
commercially available.
The DST has invested over R15 million in the Wheat Breeding Plat-
form and it has received further funding of about R20 million from
the Winter Cereal Trust over the past three years.
The funding among others, ensures bursaries to postgraduate
research students and made it possible for the Stellenbosch Univer-
sity’s Plant Breeding Laboratory to acquire modern hardware tech-
nology, such as Wintersteiger experimental harvester and planter as
well as drones to monitor production.
A Perten 9500 near-infrared spectroscope also allows its techni-
cians to quickly determine important quality parameters inherent
to the germplasm being tested, such as protein percentage, kernel
weight, moisture and flour properties.
4: Producers Alan Jetha and Andries van der Pohl
enjoy a moment with Grain SA’s Liana Stroebel
and Hailey Ehrenreich.
5: Willem Botes explains to Minister Pandor how
their harvesting machine works.
6: A demonstration at Stellenbosch University’s
Welgevallen Experimental Farm of how new
varieties are transplanted.
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