Gauteng Smallholder February 2018 | Page 24

ON THE FARM

New buzzword for farming: CSA

No till. Organic farming. Permaculture

-there is a confusing number of different styles and philosophies of agriculture and the Gauteng Smallholder has described and explained many of them. A term that frequently recurs nowadays though, and one which is used by government officials quite freely, is Climate Smart Agriculture. Climate Smart Agriculture( CSA) focuses on three aspects of agriculture: ❑ Sustainably increasing food security by increasing agricultural productivity and incomes; ❑ Building resilience and adapting to climate change; ❑ Developing opportunities for reducing greenhouse gas emissions compared to expected trends. CSA is not a new production system. It is a means of identifying which production systems and enabling institutions are best suited to respond to the challenges of climate change for specific locations, to maintain and enhance the capacity of agriculture to support food security in a sustainable way.
According to the Food & Agriculture Organisation( FAO) of the United Nations, the world ' s population will increase by one-third by 2050. It is estimated that that agricultural production will have to increase by 60 % by 2050 to satisfy the expected demands for food and feed. Climate change is already

SEEDS

From page 21
have harvested the rest of the crop long before the designated seed-bearing plants are ready and will thus have wanted to reuse the bed for another planting. Allow the plants to flower, and allow the flower to mature and dry out completely before cutting it off. Over a container such as an ice cream tub pull the flower to pieces allowing the seed to fall out into the tub. Remove any remaining flower parts, bag the seed and label. If the flower is at the right stage when you process it the seed should already be mature and dry.
impacting agriculture through changes in temperatures and rainfall patterns( witness the current mess in the Western and Eastern Cape). We are also experiencing more extreme climatic events such as prolonged droughts, extreme heat and flooding. Research is being undertaken
Continued on page 23
Youwillbeamazedathow much seed comes from one fruit or flower ~ certainly more than you as a home gardener will need. In this case, why not consider swapping your excess seed for other desirable varieties through a seed swapping meeting, or via a seed swapping site on the internet? Seed swapping is an established gardener ' s pastime overseas and it is becoming more popular locally. At least three websites cater for the needs of seed swappers, including the SA Seed Exchange, Seed Swap SA and our own www. sasfox. co. za which has a page dedicated to the needs of swappers. To swap seeds you will probably need more than one fruit or flower ' s worth. The seed should be carefully labelled, including as many varietal names as you can find. And a picture of the plant and its fruit will be helpful.
22 www. sasmallholder. co. za