THE EASTERN CAPE’S agricultural potential is “severely untapped” and offers “immense potential” says ECDC ceo Mcebisi Jonas. “It’s said that the world ’s best tomatoes and pineapples are grown in the Eastern Cape. Only in this province will you find all seven of South Africa ’s biomes. Almost any crop, demanding almost any climate, can be grown here –from tomatoes and pineapples, of course, to bananas, mangos and tea, to citrus, deciduous fruit and proteas. Crops, however, make up just a quarter of the agricultural sector. Livestock -the Eastern Cape is South Africa’s main livestock farming province -is the biggest chunk by far,” he says in the ECDC’s annual report. However, despite its size, agriculture makes up just 7.3 per cent of GGP – “the potential is immense”. It is this sector in particular that offers the most hope of uplifting incomes in the rural areas, believes Jonas. “The Eastern Cape today holds more livestock than any other province: 23 per cent of South Africa’s cattle, 28 per cent of the country’s sheep, and 46 per cent of its goats. Commercial livestock farming provides around 63 000 casual and full-time jobs, while small-scale and subsistence farming, which includes livestock, employs another 436 000 people. Cattle farming is a strong feature in the former homelands (67 per cent of cattle are found here), while sheep farming is more common in the western parts of the province. It has been estimated that if livestock farming in the Transkei were to achieve the productivity of the province ’s commercial farmers, then incomes could be increased directly by as much as R1-billion. Commercial farming is restricted by factors such as limited marketing infrastructure in the former homelands, land tenure uncertainty, poor roads and lack of transport. There is, however, a vibrant informal market in the former homelands, and a small group of large-scale livestock owners are producing for commercial sale. Government ’s extension services are re-focusing on black commercial farms. The challenge is to tap the high livestock numbers, particularly in the old homelands, for commercial production of livestock and products. There is also scope to build meat processing in the province. Export markets for live animal and meat have grown. “This, with the Eastern Cape ’s disease-free environment, opens huge potential for expansion,” says Jonas.