Delivering a sustainable approach to wine farming

By: Daneel Rossouw, Divisional Head: Agriculture Nedbank Limited

The opportunity

Wine farming remains a lucrative business in South Africa, with an abundance of grape production catering for both the local and global markets.  Sustainable business practices are increasingly vital to the continued profitability of the modern wine farming practice, faced with a warming climate and pressure on soil quality and water among other challenges.

Combined with the impact of labour unrest and wild fires over recent years impacting the harvesting of grapes, it is concerning that total export volumes for the South African wine industry fell 18% year-on-year in 2014, according to statistics released by VinPro, the service organisation representing 3 600 South African wine producer and cellar members, at the 2015 Nedbank VinPro Information Day.

In contrast, local sales remained buoyant, however, achieving growth of 5%. The importance of the wine industry to the South African economy cannot be underestimated.

According to the published figures available from A profile of the South African wine market value chain 2013, published by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the Western Cape wine industry alone provided employment to almost 256 908 people in 2012, and contributed R14, 214 billion to the region’s economy between 2008 and 2012 – equivalent to approximately 7.3% of the total Gross Domestic Product of the province.

Sustainable agriculture

It is therefore essential that wine farmers are advised how to maintain profitability. One area that can have a positive effect is the use of new technologies, to better deploy new scientific farming practices, such as analysis of soil profiles, checking pH levels, map moisture levels and limiting wastage by identifying sub-optimal soils. By adopting a strategic and scientific approach, it may be possible to mitigate against potential problems in the future.

Environmental and social consciousness needs to form a part of every decision that is made. This includes establishing relationships with responsible stakeholders who are committed to socio-economic and environmental  development. Nedbank's specialist agricultural unit has ploughed R8,3 million into WWF-SA’s Sustainable Agriculture Programme since 2012, to help market and pilot sustainable agricultural practices on SA farms.

This has helped the bank to better understand and deliver on the social and environmental risks and opportunities facing the sector, leading to tailored and appropriate funding solutions for primary production (horticulture, livestock and field crop) and secondary enterprises (agribusinesses and agri-processing).

It also inspired the launch of Nedbank@Work, a service tailored for farm employees, which offers secure self-service banking, financial education and staff wellness days, and is linked to Nedbank’s Greenbacks rewards programme. 

Insurance is the final non-negotiable component of truly sustainable farming, particularly given the unpredictable and fast-changing weather patterns that now exist across the country as a result of climate change.

Innovative thinking and investment is crucial to sustain farming in present day conditions in order to consistently grow the best quality crops with the highest possible yields, all in the most sustainable manner.

Wine is one of the 180 chapters of The Agri Handbook.