The planting of 6,000 hectares of maize, using land last cultivated 20 years ago, is helping to improve food security for the communities of Alfred Nzo, OR Tambo, Chris Hani and Amathole districts.

The initiative is part of AsgiSA Eastern Cape’s agricultural project which aims to establish 100,000 hectares of these crops over the next five years, says Eastern Cape provincial MEC for Agriculture Gugile Nkwinti.

Plantings of maize are to be rotated with soya beans, sunflower, canola, sugar beans as well as vegetables.

“The implementation of the integrated cropping programme signals a major contribution to establishing better food security for the 1,2 million people in the former Transkei. Without food on the table, it is very difficult for farmers to be thinking about a better life. Food security is a key element of the project because it ensures that our people can sustain themselves until the medium to long term goal of selling maize and other crops to national markets is met,” adds Nkwinti.

AsgiSA EC projects chairman Dr Archie Nkonyeni believes that the progress of the 2008/9 planting is encouraging and bodes well for their 2009/10 expansion plans for the 13 maize projects already underway. At full size, these projects will total 22,050 hectares.

Nkonyeni estimates that yields on the current crops range from 5.5 to 6 tons depending on weather experienced by the area, the level of available skills, as well as when the land was last used for cultivation. Confirmed yields are expected later in March this year.

Nkonyeni is confident that its three-prong strategy for sustaining these projects is delivering the necessary results. 

“We target rural communities whose lands are 300 hectares or larger, consistently look at initiatives to improve the yield as well as develop capacity within these communities.

“The project has not been without its challenges – the current cost of R9,500 per hectare is twice the average cost of a commercial farmer - and some of the stakeholder mindsets have required change but we have also actively pursued community consultation in order to manage the projects’ sustainability over the long term,” says AsgiSA EC CEO Simpiwe Somdyala.

Somdyala refers to the social charter, developed with the Development Bank of South Africa, which will help AsgiSA EC develop robust relationships with communities.

An important element of the agricultural project is the agri-business model. The model, developed with PricewaterhouseCoopers, formalizes the various business relationships of stakeholders ranging from communities to those who will be involved in off-take agreements such as large retail chains, value addition activities or providing input, business, field and technical support. 

Nkonyeni says that financiers are particularly important and are already showing interest in the project.

This is good news for the initiative, says Somdyala.

“While rural development is our key mandate and we have significant funding to see agrarian transformation in this area, our involvement is based on finding a solid business-case. None of our funding takes the form of grants. It is important that the ‘profits’ of the investments in these projects, if not in the short term, then certainly in the long term, flow to other projects. The model also helps ring-fence the risks associated with agriculture,” says Somdyala.

Nkwinti says the agri-business model, which is being trialed with the Mhlonto community, will provide communities with a range of services such as skills development as well as access to markets and negotiating crop inputs.

Somydala is also excited about the planting of canola this month. AsgiSA EC is collaborating with the European-based PhytoEnergy Group, which plans to open a biofuels plant in the East London Industrial Development Zone (IDZ).

“We will start planting 800 hectares of canola for a commercial trial in February. Planting is at Ngqadu in Willowvale, Tabase in Mthatha and Bhodini in Ngcobo. Harvest will begin in August,” says Somdyala.

AsgiSA is also working with the Coega based Rainbow Nation Renewable Fuels (RNRF) to trial 400 hectares of soya beans early this year. Another 15,000 hectares is to be scoped in addition to the 6,000 hectares already planted by AsigSA last year.

Four fruit projects are also part of the agricultural project.

The other leg of the agricultural project aims to increase the count of livestock as well as improve the quality of the stock.  This year 6 000 large livestock will purchased in partnership with other role players.  This project will benefit four co-operatives who were settled as part of the LRAD programme.