Fynbos app launched to
manage your natural veld
Heather D’Alton
L
andowners and harvesters who harvest
wild fynbos can now better manage their
fynbos populations through a new cell
phone application.
The app, called i-Fynbos, collects information
on fynbos harvested from the wild, and allows
effective monitoring over time. Landowners
and harvesters will be able to check that their
harvesting is sustainable in the long term.
Around 60% of fynbos used in the bouquet
market is harvested from natural landscapes,
because it is cheaper than the focal flowers
picked in cultivated flower orchards. That
amounts to millions of stems that are picked
every year and sold. But very little is known
about how fynbos landscapes change, due to
insufficient monitoring.
Where does harvested fynbos originate?
According to Kirsten Watson, Flower Valley
Conservation Trust’s Conservation Manager,
“There is a need to know where the harvested
fynbos comes from and how it’s harvested.”
She says that monitoring fynbos is difficult,
because of the vast landscapes across which
harvesting takes place. “Where does one even
start to evaluate a property? Where do I go to
look at harvested veld?”
The i-Fynbos app provides a solution to
landowners. Kirsten says, “The app gives you
a landscape view of the property you work
on - where you’ve harvested, what you’ve
harvested and the quality of the harvesting.
This is something we never had before. So, it’s
to empower suppliers and harvesters to take
responsibility for their monitoring.”
AgriKultuur |AgriCulture
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