Eastern Cape Business 2017 edition

OVERVIEW
the east. Improving the agricultural
yield of the eastern part of
the province is vital for improving
food security and lifting many
thousands of people out of poverty.
The recent national drought
has put extra pressure on rural
communities.
Infrastructure plays an important
role in the agricultural sector,
and the repair of the road between
Port Elizabeth and Addo has been
welcomed by all the citrus farmers
in the Addo/Kirkwood district. Big
infrastructure projects have been
undertaken in the eastern parts of
the province by the Eastern Cape
Rural Development Agency.
Three training centres focus
on agriculture in the province:
Fort Cox College of Agriculture
and Forestry, Mpofu Training
Centre (teaching mostly smallstock
management) and the
Tsolo Agricultural and Rural
Development Institute, which
is developing ties with Walter
Sisulu University. The Dohne
Agricultural Research Institute,
near Stutterheim, developed a
new breed of sheep, the Dohne
merino.
The large Magwa Tea Estate
went into business rescue in
2016. At its peak, Magwa produced
about 2 700 tons of tea
but more investment is now
needed to make it (and its
neighbouring estate Majola) a
profitable business.
Crops
The Eastern Cape is South Africa’s
second-largest producer of citrus
fruit. Oranges make up the vast
majority of citrus products (80%), but the province is also well-known
for its clementine and satsuma tangerines, as well as navel oranges.
Deciduous fruits such as apples, pears and apricots are grown primarily
in the Langkloof Valley.
Another crop in which the Eastern Cape leads national production
is chicory. The roots are used for beverages such as instant coffee, the
leaves go into pet food and stock feed and unopened leaf pods become
chicory endives, a sought-after salad ingredient. The province produces
between 18 000 and 20 000 tons of wet root every year, mostly near
the coast at Alexandria and inland from Port Alfred. The entire crop is
consumed in South Africa.
The province’s pineapple crop, grown in the same part of the
Sunshine Coast that produces chicory, is similarly largely for domestic
consumption. Approximately 80 000 tons are produced every year
and processed in East London.
One of the fastest-growing sectors in agriculture is macadamia
nuts. The ECRDA has partnered with a community to plant
the popular nut at Ncera in the Tyume Valley north of Alice. The
original planting of 150ha is being expanded by a further 30ha.
The harvest of 49 tons in 2015 is expected to grow to 80 tons as
the trees mature.
Sheep and goats
The long-term drought which has afflicted all regions in South Africa
is having an effect on all sectors, but wool-producing sheep farmers
and mohair-producing Angora goat producers perhaps less so,
partly because they are so well adapted to dry conditions but also
because farmers can reduce their flocks.
33 EASTERN CAPE BUSINESS 2017