Gauteng Smallholder October 2017 | Page 3

GAUTENG COMMENT, by Pete Bower MAGAZINE HOW TO MAKE YOUR PLOT PROFITABLE Vol 18 No 10 October 2017 PUBLISHED BY Bowford Publications (Pty) Ltd Established 1985 (Reg No 2004/019727/07) PO Box 14648, Bredell 1623 Tel: [phone] or 076 176-7392 Fax: [phone] website: www.sasmallholder.co.za facebook.com/gautengsmallholder PUBLISHER & EDITOR Pete Bower email: [email protected] RESEARCH EDITOR Vanessa Bower email: [email protected] GRAPHIC DESIGNER Mark Hageman email: [email protected] ADVERTISEMENT SALES Pete Bower email: [email protected] ADVERTISING RATES ( All Rates Full C o l ou r , incl VAT ) Full Page - R7 480 Half Page - R 4 620 Quarter P age - R2 570 1/8 page - R1 360 Smaller sizes: R 104 per col cm (Minimum size - 4 col cm) ( Black only: colour rate less 2 0% ) Booking discounts Payment lumpsum in advance. Not applicable to SuperSmalls. 3 insertions - less 10% 6 insertions - less 15% (other payment and discount options are available) Circulation More than 1 9 000 copies * distributed free through outlets in the Agricultural Smallholding settlements of Gauteng and adjoining provinces. * excluding on-line readers. By Mail To receive the Smallholder by mail subscribe for only R210 per year. See coupon in this edition. Online Magazine www.sasmallholder.co.za Online Classified Ads www.sasfox.co.za Copyright Title and contents protected by copyright. No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored in any form whatsoever without the prior written permission of the publisher. Disclaimer While every care is taken to ensure the accuracy of the information in this journal, neither the Editor nor the Publisher can be held responsible for damages or consequences of any errors or omissions. The Publisher does not stand warranty for the performance of any article or service mentioned in this journal, whether in an advertisement or elsewhere. FRONT COVER Old tractor graveyard? Or restoration projects waiting to happen? A good development T here is a chance ~ a chance, not a certainty ~ that the govern- ment's thrust to develop a small farmer sector among “previously disadvantaged” communities may actually lead to a better, more stable, and more diverse food sector in South Africa. This may happen if the small farming sector receives the necessary support in terms of infrastructure and marketing to enable it to produce and sell at a meaningful profit. For, like any new farmers, small farmers face significant obstacles to getting established. There are obvious hurdles such as education and expertise, equipment and infrastruc- ture, input costs such as seed and fertilizer and, in a dry country such as ours, water supply and management. But the most critical constraint facing small farmers, especially new ones, is the availability of suitable transport to market, and marketing channels that result in profitable sales. Note the last phrase there, because the ability to sell at a profit the produce one offers is not guaranteed by the current market/retailer system. Frankly, the prices currently realised at commercial markets by farmers for their produce is a disgrace when compared with what retailers charge in their shops. So if this issue can be addressed and overcome, we are on the right path to a better future for farmers. And a thriving small farmer sector will have two other benefits for the lives of consum- ers. Firstly, there will be greater variety on offer. Today, because farming is controlled by monolithic commercial interests, the stuff one buys in the shops is often the best variety for a quality, disease and pest- resistant consistent crop. It has nothing to do with flavour or texture. An industry populated by small farmers, however, will allow individuals to grow smaller batches of crops for their flavour and texture, rather than for their uniformity and consistency. Secondly, large monoculture operations are vulnerable to major disruptions from pests, disease and the weather, which can lead to spikes and troughs in supply. Large monoculture operations also result in “forage deserts” for insects such as bees, one of the reasons for the decline in naturally-occurring swarms worldwide. Many small farms planted with different varieties and at different times will mean a steady flow of produce to consumers in a more balanced and even way, resulting in fewer surpluses and shortages in supply. Moreover, with their smaller fields surrounded by grass patches, weeds and other vegetation, “forage deserts” are avoided and bee populations will, hopefully recover. There is another benefit to a thriving small farmer sector and that is financial. There will no doubt be an increase in job opportunities on such small farms, even if only by one or two workers per enterprise. The problem is going to be to persuade today's youth that a low-paying manual job on the land is worthy of pursuit, rather than holding out for a high-tech job in the city (which is unlikely to materialise, given the current government's labour policy). But before we get excited about the possibilities afforded by a thriving small farmer sector, there is another bug-a-boo creeping in that we as individual growers and consumers need to guard against, and that's moves by corporate agri-interests and governments to discourage or even outlaw the centuries-old practice of seed swapping. Seed-swapping requires growers to harvest their seed at the end of the growing season, and to swap their favourite varieties with others. It's an age-old smallholder practice which enhances variety and ensures genetic diversity. And corporate agri-interests with their heavy investments in genetic modification and hybrid strain development tak e a dim view of it. Rather, they would like to develop sterile varieties which would necessitate the farmer buying fresh seed each year. Lest you think that corporate agri-interests are active only in the First World, be assured that are very active in the Third as well. Farmers in a number of African countries face the prospects of jail terms if they swap seeds and in South Africa corporate agri- interests have cosied up to goverment sufficiently for the latter to be looking at amendments to the Plant Breeder’s Act and the Plant Improvement Act which could possibly make seed swapping a criminal activity. That’s a development which any small grower should be fighting against and, by extension, seed-swapping is a practice which we should be actively encouraging as an deed of civil activism, in the same way that Gauteng residents have successfully seen to it that e-tolls will have to be scrapped because of lack of public buy-in. SAY YOU SAW IT IN THE GAUTENG SMALLHOLDER