|
Abstract:
|
The study was conducted on the Rust de Winter farm in the Waterberg District of Limpopo Province, to identify opportunities and possibilities for commercialising crop production within the Rust de Winter farms. The Agricultural Research for Development (ARD) procedure developed by the International Centre for development oriented Research in Agriculture (ICRA) was followed throughout the study. The farm consists of a great diversity in agricultural potential, due to different soil types, access to water and grazing capacity. Although the soils on the farm are part of 13% of South Africa’s best soils, there was very little crop production, due to the limitations in irrigation water and unreliable rainfall patterns.
Different development strategies to address the problem of decreasing crop production were screened by the team and subsequently prioritized through workshops where all the stakeholders involved in the study participated. The strategies were screened to verify their validity, feasibility and practicality. Prioritization of the strategies was done with help of certain criteria.
The study recommends that the land claim issue be resolved so that possibilities for allocating more water can be pursued. This will provide or attract appropriate investments into the development of the farms such as revitalising boreholes and rehabilitating the irrigation system. Specialised capacity building is an essential factor in providing appropriate knowledge for the farmers. The farm has potential with regard to producing high value crops if more water can be made available, even though the request for more water should be supported by factual information on the effective and efficient usage of the already allocated water quota for the area. If additional water cannot be allocated then mixed farming may be the appropriate option for the optimum utilisation of the farm resources of the present livestock and dryland cropping enterprises.
For implementation of the recommendations, there must be proper collaboration among the stakeholders and the Limpopo Provincial Department of Agriculture (LPDA) to fully engage relevant personnel for guiding the farmers through the process. |