SUPPORT PROGRAM FOR THE BLACK EMERGING LIVESTOCK FARMERS

1. Introductions

The National Department of Agriculture (DoA) and organised agriculture have developed and adopted a National Livestock Industry Strategy and Implementation Framework in which key areas for development and intervention were identified. All parties acknowledge that there is a great potential to improve livestock production in the emerging and subsistence sector (smallholder sector) and that this sector can be an important contributor to sustenance, poverty relief and agribusiness development.

In 2005, the South African government set a target of 6% growth in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from 2005 to 2014. This was followed up by the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (Asgi-SA) of 2006, which was designed to achieve the set target. The aims of Asgi-SA are to create and promote opportunities for the participation of marginalised communities in economic activities, improve the quality of livelihoods of the poor and accelerating the pace of economic growth and the rate of investment into productive capacity. The livestock industry was identified as the main driver of this growth within the agricultural sector. The livestock industry contributes 43.6% to the total domestic agricultural production, with the cattle sub-sector contributing the largest percentage (7%) to the total agricultural GDP.

The initial program to improve the emerging sector, DoA commissioned NERPO to conduct a sub-sector analysis to establish the actual situation on the ground and make recommendation as to what areas can be prioritised to make an impact and improve this sub-sector. Nerpo is again being tasked to implement the priority recommendations.

Nerpo will identified a total of 1000 black emerging livestock farmers and support them technical in all areas identified and seen as priority to improve productivity and hence profitability.  

2.         Project deliverables

Below are deliverables as identified  

2.1  Long term deliverables

      2.1.1   Increased number of smallholder farmers and farming communities with access to adequate and functional farm
          infrastructure (i.e. Dipping tanks, water points, fencing, handling facilities);

               2.1.2   Increased delivery of support services (i.e. technical assistance, market information and advisory services) to
          smallholder farmers;

            2.1.3   Improved competency of farmers in livestock enterprise management;

            2.1.4   Reduced productivity losses and improved off-take and profitability of smallholder livestock farms;

            2.1.5   Collective action of smallholder farmers in procurement of inputs, livestock marketing, grazing management and
          management of all  livestock infrastructure in the community;

          2.1.6   A best practices report on how the project can be implemented and  rolled out;

          2.1.7  Encourage commercially-oriented livestock production in the emerging sector in order to improve the number of quality
                   of marketable livestock, off take and turnover, and hence farm income and rural food security;

            2.1.8 Contribute to efficient and sustainable utilisation of the natural  resources on which livestock production is dependent;
        and

         2.1.9   Increase the participation of emerging red meat producers in the formal red meat value chain. 

      2.2    Short term deliverable

         2.2.1   provide a targeted number of smallholder farmers (1,000 emerging farmers and 100 livestock farming communities
                    on communal land) with adequate services and facilities to enable them to increase livestock productivity as well
                   as efficiently utilise their natural, capital and other production resources in order to increase marketable surplus
                   livestock;

         2.2.2   Endow the targeted farmers with appropriate livestock production and entrepreneurial skills for commercially-oriented
                   livestock production;

         2.2.3   Facilitate the smallholder farmers’ access to competitive livestock markets.

3.      Achieved deliverables

The program is at its infants stage and as such not so much has been achieved.

DEVELOPMENT OF FEEDLOTS AND MARKET ACCESS FOR EMERGING AND COMMUNAL BEEF CATTLE FARMERS

Project background: About 4 million (40% of the total beef cattle herd in South Africa) beef cattle are in the hands of black emerging and communal farmers, yet only 5% goes to the formal marketing channels. This clearly shows that “people are rich yet poor” because they cannot convert their animal asset into a means of making a living. Where transactions within formal markets happen, farmers are getting very low prices for their animals. The truth on the ground is that farmers have got no reliable market in the area where they live. They have got to travel long distances to markets venues and there they are told that their animals are inferior and therefore cannot fetch similar market related prices as commercial farmers. Therefore some farmers will not sell at these markets. This in turn leads to the perception that emerging and communal farmers do not want to sell their animals, when only these farmers want to be paid a decent price for their livestock. The resource poor farmers also do not have exposure to information that will make the aware of and competent in the business world. This project aims to create a platform where the resource poor farmers will be capacitated and encouraged to sell their livestock commercially. Also the project aims to identify and promote various marketing channels.

Project objectives:

 1.  Convene meetings with the Limpopo and Eastern Cape Provincial departments to introduce the project and identify
      role players.

2.         Train co-ordinators on continuous improvement and innovation (CI & I).

3.         Identify areas and farmer groups that will be involved in the project.

4.         Capacitate farmers in livestock production and marketing through training.

5.         Draft a comprehensive business plan for the project

6.         Improve access to commercial market by farmers using CI & I tool.

Objectives achieved:

 1.  Convene meetings with the Limpopo and Eastern Cape Provincial departments to introduce the project and identify role players.

This has been achieved. In both provinces the project was explained to the stakeholders and both the municipalities and the department committed to giving it its full support. Officers from the province and municipalities from the Eastern Cape that will serve as co-ordinators in this project have been identified.

2.  Train co-ordinators on continuous improvement and innovation (CI & I).

The co-ordinators in both the Eastern Cape and Limpopo together with some officers in the ARC have received training. The co-ordinators will in this regard be able to give directives and understand the project goals.  

 3.  Identify areas and farmer groups that will be involved in the project.

In the Eastern Cape, Areas, farmer groups and extension officers to be involved in the project, have been identified and situation analysis was done according to CI & I. In Limpopo,  the program was introduced to the farm grouping (clusters).  

5.  Draft a comprehensive business plan for the project

The initial draft business plan had to be revised a bit due to the strategic approach of CI & I. The business plan has been compiled.

 Action plan:  

 Action plan vs. actual work done: N/A 

• Municipal officers from the Eastern Cape and Limpopo PDA have been trained. Farmer leaders in the Eastern Cape and Limpopo are still to be trained.

• Situation analysis has been completed at four sites in the Eastern Cape (Chris Hani district municipality) during the third quarter (March 2007). Recommendations based on the situation analysis have been drafted and will be finalised in the fourth quarter with a detailed plan of action.

• At last, the program has been set into motion in the Limpopo, Blouberg local municipality. The concept of the program was introduced to the PDA officials and farmers. Official has since been sent for a training (CI&I).

• Manuals on cattle management and ruminant nutrition and feedlot establishment are in the process of being finalized, and will be available to the farmers in the fourth quarter

Deliverables met:   

• A comprehensive business plan has been compiled. However, due to the communiqué from the Limpopo PDA MEC, the business plan needs to be amended for the Limpopo site (Blouberg district municipality).

 Challenges faced:

• The project comprises of two sites i.e. Limpopo & Eastern Cape which has already shown that there will be challenges in carrying out tasks that are common, like training.    

APPLICATION OF MILK RECORDERS IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN DAIRY INDUSTRY

Application of Milk Recorders in the South African Dairy Industry.

The need for these services in South Africa has also been identified and several farmers have asked for these services for the following reasons: 
- They do not have suitable personnel themselves
- The impartiality given by the Milk Recorders as regards the records
- Larger size of dairy herds
- Resistance against the administrative burden
- Low uptake of dairy farming and subsequent participation in milk recording by developing (second economy) farmers

The functions of these Milk Recorders will include samples taking, but various other functions such as Artificial Insemination. Animal inspections, linear scoring, training of dairy farm labourers, checking of dairy machines, general production advice to the participating farmers, etc.
 

National School Milk (Feeding) Programme

This Programme is been scheduled to start during the forth quarter of 2005 (January – March) in co-operation with the following Ministries:
- Ministry of Agriculture
- Ministry of Education and Training
- Ministry of Health
- Ministry of Finance
- Ministry of Social Development
as well as the Provincial Government Counterparts and the Private Sector (ex.: Milk Producers Organization of South Africa – MPOSA and the Dairy Standard Agency of South Africa). Organizations such as Food Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) will also be involved during the process

SOUTH AFRICAN LARGE STOCK INDUSTRY

Kaonofatso Ya Dikgomo

This project’s aim is to improve the off-take of livestock in emerging farming sub- sector. The studies conducted show that there is a big gap between commercial and emerging beef production with regard to animals off-take. The project is run by the ARC (Animal Improvement) on behalf of the DoA. At present, farmers participating in this project are about seven hundreds. Most of them are in the Eastern Cape, North West, and Limpopo provinces. The project is being expanded on a yearly basis to reach as many beef farmers as possible. The areas of production targeted for improvement are
• Conception rate
• Calving rate
• Weaning rate
• Rebreeding
• Participation in formal market
The records compiled from the participants show a dramatic improvement in all the areas of production and also improved willingness of more farmers to participate. 

Feedlot Programs

The program is one of the AGSI project identified to provide employment and create wealth. The program is still at planning stage, consulting role players. The situation is at present being analyzed for the current situation of all existing feedlot (operating and non-operating), looking into reason why not operating, how best can they be resuscitated, linking them to local beef farmers. This can perfectly link with the Kaonofatso ya dikgomo where weaner can be sourced from. At present SA import weaners from neighbouring countries (mostly Namibia ). The feedlots are envisaged to be located along the National road corridors across the country. This is solely to benefit the emerging black beef farmers.   

Livestock Development Strategy: Implementable programs

 The directorate identified the implementable programs from the Livestock Development Strategy (LDS) and two implementing agents were tasked to implement in collaboration to provinces and local government.

 Agricultural Research Council (ARC):  was tasked to develop a program of livestock marketing in the emerging livestock sector and implement it. The objectives are to avail market to this sub-sector, so that they too can participate in the red meat value chain.  One other crucial aspect to be within this program is the holistic livestock improvement initiatives. ARC will work with extension officers within the areas of the program.

 National Emergent Red meat Producer’s organisation (NERPO): This organisation is also tasked to identify about thousands of emerging livestock farmers and support them technically through out all the stages of production and marketing of products. The implementing agent will form support structures in collaboration to the existing extension services at provincial level. 

 These implementing agencies has to mobilise existing resources (human resources and finances) to make sure that the program is efficient and understood by role players within the designated areas.  

 See reports and programs of action