Dr Johann Strauss
Western Cape Department of Agriculture
Photo: Chris Kriel
E
co-efficiency in the simplest of terms is about
achieving more with less
(Keating et al, 2009). Extending this elegant definition to
the production of annual cereal
grains, within cropping systems
practiced in the Western Cape, relates to more agricultural outputs
with lower inputs. The efficiency in
this production practice (or in grain
production), has its feet planted
firmly in both the impact on the
ecology and the economics.
To know how we can improve our
eco-efficiency, we have to take
stock of what we have been doing
up to now. Cereal grain production
in the Western Cape was mainly
based on monoculture production,
with low and erratic yields. The
plow was also extensively used. This
way of producing wheat was not
cost effective, especially following
the arrival of a free market economy following the 1994 elections.
The constant tilling of the soil was
also detrimental to increased yields
(because of the progressive breakdown in soil health) and it became
more expensive to produce a ton of
wheat, because more and more
inputs were needed to supplement
the soils’ production potential.
The inclusion of annual (medic/
clover) and perennial (lucerne) legume pastures into our production
systems helped to alleviate some of
these efficiency problems by lowering some of the inputs and increasing soil health. The introduction of
no-till production methods as part
of conservation agricultural principles was the next step in improving
our eco-efficiency within the cereal
cropping systems. This step in our
production history lowered input
costs, increased yields and improved soil health through alternating different crop types and pastures, eliminating tillage and keeping the soil covered as much as possible. The result was that water infiltration rates and water holding
capacity of our soils increased
which meant that the efficiency of
our production per millimetre of
rain has improved. The reason for
this was the increase in carbon content of the soils and improved soil
structure. Erosion by both wind
and water was also brought under
control and in most cases even
eliminated. Along with this we were
lowering the amount of fertiliser
added to the system because of the
inclusion of legumes into rotation