Abe Lincoln and Trump: love and agriculture

In the aftermath of the elections in the US we found ourselves wondering, not for the first time, whether Abe Lincoln made a mistake in going to war to keep the United States of America together. For those who do not know, nearly as many American soldiers died in the Civil War (1861 – 1865) as in all subsequent wars combined. It wasn't a case of riding off into the sunset afterwards either. Take a look at the documentary Aftershock: Beyond the Civil War (National Geographic), for example, and be appalled by the hardships which followed the war! 

Mitchell translates some lines from an ancient Chinese text, the Tao te Ching, to read:

“Trying to grasp things, you lose them

Forcing a project to completion, 

You ruin what was almost ripe”

It is speculative, of course, to wonder how history would have been different had a more organic development between the differing north American states been allowed. We will never know.

The anger that has followed the conclusion of the 2016 elections (it would have been the same had Clinton won) makes one feel that there are at least two countries between Canada and Mexico. 

In life, people can speak past each other, leaving it to bystanders to notice that the belligerents are hardly on the same page! Dr Helen Schucman notes that we make an ego for ourselves as well as for everyone else we meet. Go through the election reports before and since the elections and - but for its being so tragic - you would have to chuckle.

Perhaps there are as many USAs as there are people living in that country. Perhaps that is the point. Move ever deeper into multiplicity and you lose touch with an original unity, a basic impulse of friendship and co-feeling. You can believe that belittling opponents is the way to victory, and target Republican and Democrat alike. You can even win the battle for strategic votes and the race to the White House. And then? Be surprised about the animosity you face? Your country is more divided now than before your campaign began. 

A few decades after the American Civil War, at a time when the world we knew was entering its greatest ever conflict, one of its greatest poets penned the lines of “In Time of ‘The breaking of Nations’”. Something survives the disunity and calamity of war, says Thomas Hardy, something which finds its perfect expression in tilling the soil (agriculture) and the love between a woman and a man.

We make mistakes and will continue to make mistakes (how else do we grow?) The penny seemingly takes a long time to drop though that when we encourage partisanship it leads inevitably to hardship for all, especially the people excluded from your club (how long does it take for us to learn that one!)

Was Hardy right? I for one pin my hopes on it. And on the belief that for as long as love and agriculture continue, we will have a breathing space to sort ourselves out.

West Coast media trip: part 3

The view from the Elandsbaai Hotel window

The sight of the sea greeted me in the morning. The sea! The great mirror of something forgotten within ourselves, about ourselves, other possibilities ...

True, sitting in silence can do this, but looking out at the water brings in this awareness with an immediacy that I always find remarkable. Of course, this might simply be due to the fact that I don’t get to the beach often!

Moutonshoek is indicated by the orange boundary (see bottom right).Verlorenvlei leading to Elandsbaai and the coast is in purple (top left). Diagram used courtesy of the WWF Nedbank Green Trust.

We wanted to look at the receiving end of the water that leaves Moutonshoek, where we had been the previous day. The aquifer flows out from there into the Verlorenvlei area and on to Elandsbaai (where we were now). To get an idea of the geography, infrastructure and economics of the place we set off.

An information board about the estuary included a caution about water use. Injudicious use would lead to a shallow estuary which could remain closed to the sea for many years; and a decrease in biodiversity would affect fisheries, tourism and local economies.

Elandsbaai has been known for its surfing beaches and its fishing industry. Unfortunately, the latter has been in decline for some time now as a result of quotas and dwindling fish stocks. Increasingly we found that the issue that loomed over this day, like the mountain itself, was the one facing leaders in this town: how to restore hope to a community facing joblessness and increasing poverty.

We drove past an abandoned fish factory near Baboon Point, scarred by silence and, apart from the solitary gull here and there, a complete lack of activity. 

Elandsbaai offers a sense of heritage. A climb up the ocean-facing side of Baboon Point brings you to a dwelling against the mountain side, the walls of which are decorated with the stories of southern Africa’s original inhabitants.  Recent visitors had scratched their initials onto the rock,  interrupting the centuries-old conversation.

A discussion followed on how this heritage could be protected in the future. The dwelling should certainly be included in the area's future marketing plans, but the thought of increased traffic to where we were standing brought to mind the place's vulnerability to vandalism.

Viewing the bridge where Elandsbaai receives its water from Verlorenvlei

Back at the Elandsbaai Hotel we met Henk Boneschans, a member of the local community. He discussed the situation in the town and the efforts to rejuvenate its economy. His enthusiasm and creativity was illustrated by a miniature vertical farming device he had built and which he demonstrated to the group. A litre of water is poured in at the top level, filters down through two other levels of vegetables /herbs before collecting again at the bottom, available for re-use. Boneschans is hoping to inspire an interest in food gardens and growing one’s own food at the local school and in other circles here.

Two of the WWF Nedbank Green Trust funders in our party remarked that projects often fail because of the lack of local leadership; that the presence of a local champion like him makes all the difference. And this is what Henk Boneschans is, a champion for the town's potential. Contact details were exchanged and we hope something comes out of the visit.

 And now our excursion was coming to an end. We made a last stop outside the town, across the road from an abandoned school. This building, it was pointed out, would be an ideal one-stop-shop to serve the ecotourism that is being punted to breathe new life into the town's prospects. Maps, brochures, souvenirs as well as any necessary permits could be obtained here.

Much thought has gone into this venture. Business plans and strategy documents threshed out. It was Samantha Schroder, project leader from Birdlife South Africa, who pointed out the potential of the old school buildings and, behind us, the wetlands stretching back to Moutonshoek.

"All things flow to the sea" is an idea that individuals with vision have drawn on for centuries. In this case, I hope that it means "That which you have hoped for and worked for -- may it come to you".

Agri Handbook chapters of relevance to the this article include Wetlands, Tourism and Birds.

West Coast media trip: part 2

The dust brought up the rear as the two buses came to a halt outside the furtherest buildings on Klein  Namaquafontein, one of the farms making up the Moutonshoek Protected Environment. The reader is directed to the previous blog to find out the circumstances which brought this small farming community together to protect the single aquifer which provides water here, to Verlorenvlei and to Elandsbaai on the coast.

We disembarked and were met by David and Charlene Rothquel. I milled about, passed scattered conversations and looked for the best place to stand. 

The Rothquels address us.

 The Rothquels spoke at length about their farming activities. This hard-working couple run a mixed operation, farming organically. Olives, lavender, buchu are included amongst the products which come from here. A past fire had destroyed much of the infrastructure but things had since picked up and they have bought the farm. 

Among the party that joined us on the farm was one Goldie Weideman. I cannot say that she contributed to the discussions that followed, but she stayed with us for the whole afternoon, occasionally bumping into people, drawing looks, smiles, comments and chuckles but never smiling herself. Goldie Weideman has no idea that she is a sheep. 

Goldie Weideman makes our acquaintance

We were invited to see the farm and so we set off.

Crossing streams ...

Climbing closer to the mountains and a view ...

Smelling the flowers - in this case, buchu (Agathosma betulina). Indigenous to South Africa, this shrub can be harvested for medicinal purposes.

Beehives could be seen intermittently. Remarkably, they have recovered on their own from American Foulbrood (no human intervention was required).

 

Standing underneath the leopard tree

At the furtherest point of our walk, we paused at a tree used as a scratch pad by passing leopards. After this I thought I noticed a  surreptitious look or two cast around by the party. 

Farmers respond to the leopards by keeping their flocks away from areas at the foot of the mountains, and bring livestock back to buildings and kraals at night.

  

The impressive couple would not let us leave without each of us receiving a gift of both olive- and essential oils. 

We passed neighbouring farms, one on which thoroughbred horses are bred, before pausing at a clearing where alien invasives have been weeded out, part of the Krom Antoniesrivier LandCare Project. Advantages from controlling alien vegetation are ecological and economic: less water lost, jobs created. A previous blog covers work done in this regard by the WWF Nedbank Green Trust.

Surveying the work done in removing invasive alien plants.

And then we were on the R366, travelling west, travelling parallel to Verlorenvlei, the Ramsar-proclaimed wetlands and one of the few coastal fresh water lakes in the country; travelling mostly in silence while heaven and earth became one syllable. 

At the Elandsbaai Hotel we were shown our rooms and got ready for the evening. 

West Coast media trip: part 1

In the week when farmer association KwaNalu reported that there were thousands of oil and gas exploration applications to prospect on KwaZulu-Natal farmland (FW 23 Sept 2016), a group of journalists and team assembled by the WWF Nedbank Green Trust were looking at how the possibility of a tungsten mine spurred a group of farmers to have their area classified as a Protected Environment.

 

Most people enjoy a break from the routine, especially if it involves travel. When the invitation came from the WWF Nedbank Green Trust to accompany a contingent of journalists and others to the West Coast, I put my hand up and the morning of the 21^st September found me in one of two silver Hyundai buses pointing north from Cape Town.

 The reader will appreciate that names like Moorreesburg, Piketburg and the Sandveld in the Western Cape have long been linked to agriculture, and during our years of compiling the agricultural publication those names have become very familiar: a group of farmers started the co-operative called Moorreesburg Koring Boere (Moorreesburg Wheat Farmers), now part of a larger agribusiness; the Sandveld is renowned for its potatoes and the conservation efforts that go with protecting its ecosystem; agricultural training providers Praktika are based in Piketberg ...

The notice of proposed mining activity in Moutonshoek, just north of Piketberg, was enough to get landowners of the area together. The alarm bells were heard in wider conservation circles and led to the involvement of Birdlife South Africa and the Wildlife andEnvironment Society of South Africa (WESSA), backed by the WWF Nedbank Green Trust.

Moutonshoek is the catchment area supplying the Krom Antonies River, which widens through wetlands, leading to the estuary at Elandsbaai on the West Coast. The wetlands are a Ramsar proclaimed site, and an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) too, with significant populations of threatened and migratory bird species included amongst the 200 plus bird species it hosts. Also to be counted in the biodiversity of the area are the IUCN Red-listed Verlorenvlei Redfin fish (Pseudobarbus verloreni), the Endangered Diascia caitliniae, and the Critically Endangered Redlinghuys Pincushion (Leucospermum arenarium), and looking on from the mountains, the Cape Leopard. Add to this biodiversity the population of Elandsbaai, very dependent on the single aquifer under Moutonshoek and the reader will appreciate what brought farmers, conservationists and others together.

If land is as vital as the Mountonshoek-Verlorenvlei area, then there is a need to gear up from a simple conservancy to something with a bit more clout. (To see what the four Biodiversity Stewardship options are, refer to heading 5 of the "Biodiversity and ecosystems services" chapter of the Agri Handbook or click here).

After consultations, the farmers in Moutonshoek decided to go for Protected Environment status and signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Cape Nature, the provincial nature agency, to declare the intention to pursue the Biodiversity Stewardship model for the area.

At the turnoff to Moutonshoek we piled out of the buses to read the notices and to get the feel of the place. 

Announcement: 16th Annual South African Agricultural Outlook Conference

Are you ready for a thought provoking experience? The annual AMT Agri-Outlook Conference is not to be missed and remains one of the highlights on the South African agricultural calendar.

The CSIR International Convention Centre. Photo used courtesy of www.csiricc.co.za.

The 16th AMT Agri-Outlook Conference will be held on 28 September 2016 at the CSIR International Convention Centre in Pretoria. 

The theme of this year's conference is: Politics, conflicts, global warming, the world economy and the future of agriculture in South Africa. Producers, producer organizations, banks, universities, government officials, agri businesses and the media will attend. This is an excellent annual networking opportunity for all role-players involved in agriculture.

Some of the renowned speakers will be Mr. Mike Schussler, who will give an economic outlook for 2017, and Mr. Johan van den Berg who will discuss the climate outlook for 2016 and 2017. Mr. Van den Berg will give his opinion regarding rain expectations for the coming summer. Another world class speaker, Mr. Theo Venter, will present a political outlook for 2017 which will be interesting following the outcomes of the local municipal elections in August 2016. Mr. Chris Hart will share his insights in terms of the impact of policy on the economic and agricultural economic environment while Mrs. Chantell Ilbury will elaborate on the flags which indicate an increase in global conflict and what this means for Agribusiness in South Africa.

During the panel discussion the opportunity will arise for interaction between the audience and experts in their field. This year the panel of experts, which includes Prof Nick King, Dr Andries Jordaan and Mr. Christo van der Rheede, will focus on issues regarding risk mitigation within the context of climate change, water and food security as well as drought mitigation strategies and drought relieve in South Africa.

The Global and South African Outlook for the supply and demand of grains, oilseeds and livestock will be addressed by Mr. Ernst Janovsky with final perspectives on the day's deliberation that will be dealt with by Dr Herman van Schalkwyk.

The day's programme will be concluded with a gala dinner with guest artists (It Takes Four) and a lucky prize draw. This conference will provide you the opportunity to listen, experience and interact with the experts and leaders in the agricultural business environment. If you are interested in attending this conference, or want to sponsor, exhibit or advertise in the conference programme booklet, contact Mrs. Dalene Coetzer at 076 188 6533 or e-mail liaison [at] amtrends.co.za.

Find more information here.

Announcement: 2016 Toyota New Harvest of the Year Competition

Dear sir/madam

This is a reminder to enter the Toyota New Harvest of the Year Competition 2016 as we are nearing the closing date at the end of next week.  Thanks to all the companies/organisations that already entered a candidate(s) for the competition, and those who have forwarded the entry forms and -details to other relevant people/organisations and possible candidates.

 Remember that the objectives of this competition are:

1. to identify and reward the most successful previously disadvantaged (black/Indian/coloured) farmer in South Africa, and;
2. to provide credit/recognition to those people/institutions/organisations/agencies that are involved in the development of new farmers.

The winner will receive the prestigious “2016 Toyota New Harvest of the Year” trophy and a Toyota Hilux bakkie. The nominating agency will receive a cash prize of R10,000 from Toyota SA which could be used for the development and assistance of more HDI (Historically Disadvantaged Individuals) farmers.

By participating the nominator and finalist will receive much publicity.  All that is required from you is to identify and nominate such a successful farmer with whom your institution assisted in the development of the individual.  Please ask your candidate to complete Section A of the attached entry form where after you must complete Section B and return both sections by fax to +27 (0)51 507 4060 or +27 (0)86 503 6166, or send the scanned entry form by email to cvdwesth [at]cut.ac.za or post to Prof. C. van der Westhuizen, Department of Agriculture, Central University of Technology Free State, P/Bag X20539, Bloemfontein, 9300.

The entry requirements, procedure and adjudication criteria are included in the entry form – please read it carefully.   However, please do not hesitate to contact me at any time at +27 (0)51 507 3788 or +27 (0)83 445 2662 if you have any queries or need any special arrangements.

I am looking forward in receiving your entry/entries before or on 26 August 2016.

Kind regards

Prof. Carlu van der Westhuizen

Convener/chairperson of the panel of adjudicators

The Agri Handbook 2016/17 edition can be accessed from today

The Agri Handbook is available to the general public, online, as of today. Ninety chapters out of the 180 can be accessed at www.agribook.co.za, or click here.

It is still very much a work-in-progress. More chapters will be added on a weekly basis. Many of these, up-to-date last year, require revision. We will allow a few days to sort out teething problems before alerting the wider agricultural community, inviting it to visit the website which gives an overview of the entire agricultural value chain.

If you notice anything that you wish to query, or if your advert is not showing correctly, or if you have feedback of any sort please leave a comment or drop me an email.

The Agri Handbook for South Africa 2016/17

The first 90 chapters of the 2016/17 Agri Handbook for South Africa will be live on a sister website, to be announced on Monday 11 July. Further chapters will be added on a weekly basis.

The current book, in English or in Afrikaans, can be downloaded free as a pdf (find this option under “Order”). The 2016/17 edition will be different, in that it will be readable as internet site. You will be able to scroll down on “Infrastructure”, for example, and click on “Irrigation” and the chapter will be there, immediately accessible.

We are very excited about this venture, and invite you to visit us on Monday to view it for yourself.

For visitors new to the publication, the Agri Handbook covers the whole agricultural value chain in South Africa. Clicking on “Table of contents” will give you an idea of the range.

More of the brown, less of the green: putting water into our "water factories"

                                                     A media trip to the Western Cape Part III

Photograph used courtesy of Helen Gordon, WWF SA

“So we want more of the brown, less of the green?” asked one member of the audience. She was responding to a slide of two people, one standing on brown veld and the other on “lush” greenery (see photo above). The problem with the latter was that the budding greenery was that of a fresh invasion of Invasive Alien Plants (IAPs). The brown was an area that had been treated and subsequently regained its health.

IAPs are not a serious contender for what grabs our attention. We might have a vague idea that invasives have to go, but our buy-in doesn’t go much beyond that. When informed, though, that water lost to invasive alien plants is estimated at an annual 1.44 billion cubic metres nationally we might start paying attention. This volume could sustain 120 000 hectares of crops to increase food production, or supply 3.38 million households of four members for one year.
 

Helen Gordon has done the maths, and her presentation on the first evening of the media tour was certainly food for thought. Gordon is Programme Manager for the WWF Water Balance Programme.

The recent drought’s deleterious effect on agriculture and the economy would show to any observer the importance of water. If you regard water as coming from a tap and have never gone beyond this, then this article will hold little interest to you.

The expense of keeping water in those taps is enormous. R1.4 billion per year is required just to keep existing water infrastructure ticking over. A further annual amount of some R63 billion is called for to upgrade what we have in order to meet the projected demands. And when the rains don’t come, that water supply is threatened before it gets close to our taps.

But investment also needs to go into our ecosystems, what WWF calls “the water factories”. Without functioning ecosystems it doesn’t matter how much is spent on dams and the other water infrastructure!

The Water Balance Programme, through its IAP clearing projects, puts “new” water into freshwater ecosystems. It is an important water supply intervention. A background to IAPs in the country:

• IAPs destroy the proper functioning of wetlands (vleis in South Africa) and the plant habitats and communities along the river margins (riparian zones). The ecosystem services provided by these ecological bulwarks are lost to us.
• IAPs have invaded a total area of some 18 million hectares in the country. Indigenous vegetation cannot compete with them and so the natural balance becomes out of kilter and biodiversity is lost.
• Working for Water is the government response to IAPs. Some 2.7 million hectares have been treated over the past two decades with some R800 million being spent every year. Clearing is costly and requires on-going commitment. 

The next article will deal with the first stop the following day, a look at how the Water Balance Programme saves water, infrastructure (pumps, bridges) and creates jobs.

The first evening

A media trip to the Western Cape Part II

A break in the journey: looking over Riviersonderend. Photo used courtesy of Helen Gordon, WWF SA

At Cape Town airport a contingent of media, WWF SA and Nedbank personnel boarded the three minibuses making up the small convoy that began to thread its way across the beautiful scenery that lies to the east, heading towards the Overberg region. Nedbank is one of the major partners of the work we had come to see. 

We broke the one-and-a-half hour journey, halting at a vantage point to view Riviersonderend where much of the work is being done.  

Back on the buses, we headed for Greyton, a picturesque village that most of us will certainly visit again. At The Post House we were allocated rooms and given an hour to rest before presentations on the WWF work in the Western Cape. 

I returned to the main street and made a sortie to get the feel of the place. Mountains in silent conversation with each other loomed high over street buildings on every side, their words unheard from down below. Around the time that the talks were due to begin, the moon, as if to join the assembly, stepped out to the right of a mountain at the far end of the village, and conversations of cloud passed across its face from the gathering darkness.

“How best can we secure and maintain the ecological infrastructure for food and water security?” is the over-arching question asked by Inge Kotze, senior manager of WWF SA’s involvement in agriculture. Agriculture finds itself very much in the Food-Energy-Water (FEW) questions of the day, and for this reason WWF SA includes agriculture as an area of operation. Indeed, balancing food, land, water and energy security is an important consideration for any strategist looking to ensure a country’s future and prosperity. 

Inge Kotze, senior manager WWF SA agriculture speaking to Nancy Richards, SAfm. Photo used courtesy of Helen Gordon, WWF SA

To demonstrate how South Africa’s Food, Energy and Water (FEW) questions are intertwined, Kotze shows three consecutive slides mapping (1) key food production areas, (2) regions where coal is mined or energy procured, and (3) major catchment areas supplying water. Point made. The overlap is telling. And so the WWF SA-Nedbank partnership is very active in Mpumalanga, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.

Nearly 80% of land in the country is deemed agricultural land (for some reason, mining is included under the “agricultural use” label). Whatever the actual figure is, that farmers own most of the landscape is undisputed. For this reason, some view agriculture as a threat to biodiversity. WWF, on the other hand, recognises the “intimate land connection” of the farmer.  By reinforcing a farmer’s natural love of the land, a winning partnership can be created (we will take a look at some examples in the fourth and fifth of this series of articles).

Agriculture has the potential to be at the forefront of the country’s transitioning to a low water, low carbon economy, and WWF SA is helping the sector to make this reality. Numerous sector-specific best practice guidelines are available, and one area the organisation is focusing on is the WWF Living Farms Reference (LFR), an excellent idea as human beings learn more by seeing something demonstrated than by reading about it. It is practical and easier to absorb.

Other key focus areas are:

1. Making and building the business case for the WWF interventions;
2. “On farms” engagement with key sectors through the piloting and implementation of the LFR (wine and fruit, dairy, sugar, barley, grasslands beef);
3. Capacity development and regulatory support (government support, organised agriculture, worker unions, financial sector). 

 

"Food. Water. Energy. For all. Forever." is the WWF SA's logo. Photograph used courtesy of Helen Gordon, WWF SA.

“Priority projects” for the next five years are described as:

1. Conservation Agriculture for all commodities and farming systems
2. Restored ecological infrastructure for increased landscape productivity, socio-ecological resilience and soil carbon sequestration
3. Collaborative integrated catchment management for improved water security (quality and quantity) and job creation
4. Energy efficiency and renewable energy case studies to inspire the transition to low-carbon agriculture
5. Climate-proofing the growth of agri-processing in the Western Cape
6. Integrated knowledge system for climate smart agricultural extension.

Sustainable agriculture has been defined by role players like Prof Izak Groenewald at the University of the Free State’s Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, Rural Development and Extension simply as agriculture which ticks all the economic, environmental and social/ethical boxes. This is the trajectory on which WWF and its partners like Nedbank would like to see agriculture. The next articles will look at three visits we made on the day following.

A media trip to the Western Cape

Photograph used courtesy of Helen Gordon, WWF SA

In Conversations with Myself, Nelson Mandela ponders the question of when to speak and when to be quiet. And if there is something to say, when to say it? And how to say it? Volunteering information “gratuitously”, for example, leads to the person speaking becoming “ineffective” (page 219). 

The same wisdom can be found in sources like Proverbs and the Tao te Ching.

        “A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver” (Proverbs 25:11).

        “The excellence … of (the initiation of) any movement is in its timeliness” (Tao te Ching 8:2, Legge translation).

WWF South Africa is an organisation involved in the work of encouraging environmental responsibility. Now being in charge of people in your own organisation already involves skill and wisdom; how much more when many of the objectives involve the buy-in from people not on your payroll. You can imagine it is possible to step on people’s toes.

Sometimes people need their toes stepped on – we are not denying this. The problem arises that when offence is taken, lack of enthusiasm morphs into obvious and deliberate lack of co-operation. Was it time to speak? Was your knowledge offered “gratuitously”? Your motivation might have been noble, but by alienating those whose co-operation you sought you now sabotage your task. 

My eyebrows did a raise when I heard, some time back, that WWF SA was getting involved in agriculture. Environmental activists are referred to as “greenies” in some agricultural circles. The implicit (and explicit) criticism is that you get agriculture and you get environmentalism and never the twain shall meet. The ous from environmental circles do not have to wring their living from the soil and are out-of-touch with lofty but impractical ideas.

Members of the agricultural media were invited to see the work being done by the WWF SA in the Western Cape. We accompanied the trip and this is the first of six articles on our impressions and findings. 

Sustainable water and sanitation solutions for South Africa

Press release:  Strategic Water Partners Network South Africa


With the gap between supply and demand for water expected to reach 17% by 2030, many South Africans will be required to radically change their attitudes to the way in which this precious commodity is being used and conserved, especially in the treatment of human waste.

With the gap between supply and demand for water expected to reach 17% by 2030, many South Africans will be required to radically change their attitudes to the way in which this precious commodity is being used and conserved, especially in the treatment of human waste.

Population growth coupled with a rise in urbanisation and increased economic activity are key contributors to the growing demand for water, while poor usage habits, the denigration of wetlands, climate change and consumer and commercial losses are factors causing the availability of this valuable resource to dwindle.

With an estimated 11% of households still without sanitation services, and 26% with sanitation services which do not meet the required standard, the public health and environmental risks are enormous. In a water-scarce country like South Africa, the solution cannot be ‘flushing’.  Instead, game changing new technologies which require little or no water, are required if the country is to address the sanitation challenge and the looming water gap.

Jay Bhagwan, Executive Manager at the Water Research Commission, and representative of the Strategic Water Partner Network (SWPN), agrees with Water and Sanitation Minister, Nomvula Mokanyane that, ‘It’s not all about flushing…’, and comments that universal access to sanitation does not mean that everyone must be able to flush but rather that there is universal access to a more appropriate way of treating human wastes – faeces and urine.

“We need to build a culture which embraces the sustainability of water and recognises the benefits of treating human wastes as an asset rather than a liability”, he says.

Sanitation makes up about 60% of the capital costs of water services and between 30% and 40% of water is used for flushing.  But while South Africa is one of few countries which returns up to 68% of water for indirect use, sludge should be viewed as a resource:

• the energy, nutrients and reuse of which provides an opportunity to recover phosphates and nitrates for fertilization; 
• to convert sludge into biogas for power; and
• to recover water from flushing.

While there is some progress on effluent re-use within certain municipalities, the challenge of treating waste relating to sanitation remains.  Current modalities for collection and removal of waste are often messy and hazardous to health whereas a flush toilet and central sewage system is viewed by society as the optimal method of disposal. In many cases this is not sustainable in the longer term. Instead, alternative thinking is required for solutions which:

• result in less or no waste water and sewage;
• treat the effluent at source;
• result in beneficiation;
• deliver the same user convenience as a flush toilet; and
• saves water while being environmentally safe.  

Dry technologies, through processes which involve, dehydration; desiccation; solar treatment; combustion and the like are promising and could provide the solution which is so urgently required.  

SWPN is made up of some of South Africa’s most forward-thinking corporates along with the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), municipalities, civil society and other stakeholders.  Many of these progressive organisations have taken the lead in developing innovative, water-efficient solutions in the interest of sustainable socio economic growth for the country.  

One such project is the Green Drop initiative, led by the DWS. This incentive-based regulatory programme assesses and evaluates the management of more than 800 wastewater treatment facilities by 156 municipalities. Especially relevant in agricultural areas where grey and effluent water are utilized for irrigation, this initiative provides tools for municipalities to assess and evaluate waste water quality, sample analysis credibility, process control and treatment facilities. Given the public health risks associated with ecoli and other harmful micro-organisms, compliance monitoring is vital in ensuring safe produce.  

Municipalities, like Witzenberg in the heart of the Western Cape’s fruit growing region are testament to the positive commercial impact this initiative has had on its farmers and consumers.  However, in other municipalities where treatment of sewage has not been optimal and levels of harmful bacteria have exceeded safe limits, there has been a negative impact on commercial trade. 

Various organisations within the voluntary yet carefully structured SWPN platform have embarked on ground-breaking initiatives which utilize lower quality water in the interest of preserving the country’s water resources.  

1. Notable amongst these include Khumba Iron Ore’s Sishen mine in the Northern Cape which is part of the Anglo American Group. This mine uses effluent from the wastewater treatment works for its processing operations whilst injecting the groundwater abstracted from the mines into the potable water supply. 
2. Other exemplary leaders in this respect are the cities of Cape Town, Nelson Mandela Bay and Johannesburg which recycle effluent from their wastewater treatment works for industrial use, irrigation and cooling water in power stations. 

Richard Holden, speaking on behalf of the SWPN comments that industries should think twice before using potable water if lower quality water is available and will do the job just as well.  The recently released Draft National Sanitation Policy as well as the Medium Term Strategic Framework of the NDP recognise the need for reforms which encourage new thinking around sanitation and the treatment of effluent.

The SWPN anticipates that this draft policy will go a long way to address the socio-cultural aspects of poor sanitation and will pave the way for new innovations in the treatment of effluent.  Furthermore, while its members are committed to broadening their focus beyond the factory fence to ensure that their employees and extended communities are not negatively affected by poor sanitation, other organisations should follow their lead.

Sustainable sanitation and potable water solutions that meet the needs of the population necessitates a collaborative effort by consumers, industry stakeholders and government and  the SWPN, its members and partners are committed to working together with government to find mutually beneficial, viable solutions in the interest of all South Africans.