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May 2015
Figure 1
indicates the location of the farmers – 1/3 in Mpumalanga,
1/3 in KwaZulu-Natal and 1/3 in the Eastern Cape.
In order to make the project a success, additional partners had to
be sought. The response was very positive. As mentioned, the ARC
and Monsanto were already fully committed and the following part-
ners also came on board:
Omnia with a discounted price on fertiliser.
Sasol Chemicals (Fertiliser) with a donation of top dressing.
Bayer CropScience with insecticide.
TWK with discounted prices on the additional knapsack spray-
ers that were required.
Grain SA with project management and additional funding for
fertiliser.
The process
It is important to be able to trace the progress of any project and
fortunately Grain SA has a comprehensive data base of all the mem-
bers of the development programme. Each participating farmer’s
information is captured on the system with the GPS points of the
land (so that donors can visit the actual sites and meet the farmers).
After depositing their contribution, the farmers had to indicate
whether they wanted yellow or white maize seed. The fertiliser order
for each farmer was processed (grouping the farmers into clusters
for ease of delivery). A few additional handheld planters and knap-
sack sprayers were bought to ensure that there was enough equip-
ment to plant the crop at the correct time.
The provincial co-ordinators of Grain SA (Messrs Naas Gouws,
Jerry Mthombothi, Jurie Mentz, Ian Househam, Vusi Ngesi and
Lawrence Luthango) were assisted by additional mentors to ensure
that the farmers were adequately trained and supported.
Training was given to the farmers on the following topics:
Measurements and calculations.
Climatic requirements for maize production.
Soil and soil moisture retention.
Soil sampling.
Soil acidity.
Principles of conservation agriculture.
Plant growth.
Cultivar selection.
Plant population.
Planting depth.
Row width and spacing in the row.
Fertilisation and topdressing.
Weed control.
Control of yellow nut sedge (
uintjies
).
Correct use of the handheld equipment and calibration of the
knapsack sprayer.
Progress to date
All the farmers in the project have been able to plant their maize
crop and the results are overwhelming – a high population of good
maize plants that have been properly fertilised and received effec-
tive chemical weed control.
1: Maize under no-till.
2: Beautiful maize that was sprayed once,
needs one final spray.
“
The success of any
development programme is
directly linked to the involve-
ment and ownership of the
project by the beneficiaries.
“
1
2