New beeginnings: innovative hive design set to revitalise local beekeeping

Local beekeeping is currently faced with a range of challenges, including adverse weather conditions and the rapid decline in bee numbers worldwide – which is a global concern seeing as bees pollinate crops that are produced for human consumption. The cheap price of low-quality imported "honey" is also a threat to South African honey farmers.

Wooden vs concrete beehives. Photo used courtesy of Beegin.

However, a new type of beehive has the potential to revitalise honey production in this country. The concept sees traditional wooden hive structures replaced with an innovative concrete frame. Although a concrete hive is not in itself a new idea, the new Beegin hive provides several design adjustments that have helped a test group of beekeepers to increase their productivity.

The progressive, aptly named Beegin was created by Ivan Brown and was born out of this intrepid industrial design student’s goal to expand local beekeeping and contribute to both job creation and food security in this country. Brown is currently studying for a master’s degree at the University of Johannesburg. His work on Beegin, which started as a research project, has been featured at several international design conferences. He has also co-authored several research papers.

Brown came up with the design when he entered the PPC Imaginarium Awards, the country’s most supportive arts and design competition for emerging creatives that seeks to reward innovation in concrete. Brown was named the runner-up in the industrial design category of the awards in 2015 and PPC then supplemented Brown’s prize money with a seed grant to assist him with prototyping his initial concept. PPC has since assisted Brown with further funding to aid the nationwide rollout of the project after a successful testing phase.

Ivan Brown. Photo used courtesy of Beegin.

The testing process took two years. In that time, all ten of the participants (five beekeepers and five urban farmers) were kept appraised of Brown’s new beekeeping technology.

“The testing process was fantastic!” he adds. “We uncovered a range of issues with the original design and the production process. We refined the entire system.”

For the farmers involved, these tests served as a learning process, teaching them to introduce and keep bees on their farms. Since then, honey production has increased considerably.
Having learned the requisite skills, farmers and beekeepers are now able to serve as access points in the community. Marginalised farming communities may thus manage to take part in processes surrounding the keeping and introduction of beehives.

In addition, the insulation properties of concrete proved to be beneficial in the testing phase of this innovative beehive concept. “In hot and cold weather, the bees expend a great deal of energy regulating the temperature of the hive to keep the larvae alive,” says Brown. “The energy is made by consuming honey, and by insulating the bees from temperature variations the hives become more productive and efficient.”

Mike Shapland, a hobby beekeeper based in Johannesburg, took part in the testing process. A long-time user of traditional wooden hives, Shapland compares the old hives with the benefits of the new concrete one. “There’s a dramatic effect on productivity,” he notes. “The bees don’t have to work as hard. And fewer of them have to work!”

The beehives. Photo used courtesy of Beegin.

Low productivity is among the barriers to production in the South African honey-making industry. South Africa is short several thousand tonnes of honey each year, according to commercial beekeeper Brett Falconer. Competition from cheap imports, of which 76% are Chinese, is an added challenge to beekeepers looking to enter the local honey-making industry. Cheap, low-quality imports have been on the rise since 2001, putting strain on local honey producers, who also have to contend with poor environmental conditions.

Free State-based Danie Peach is another beekeeper who took part in the Beegin testing process. He found that the new concrete design helped to accommodate changes in weather. “The past two to three years were very dry,” he says. “The wooden hives crack and you need to go back to the hives and repair the cracks. But with the concrete that is not the case.”

Now that Brown’s design will be available nationwide, it has the ability to impact the economy positively on a larger scale. Case studies show that beekeeping has empowered small businesses in areas like Limpopo and the Eastern Cape, introducing a new wave of local commercial beekeepers. For example, Mokgadi Mabela founded Polokwane-based business The Native Nosi in 2015 to produce local, quality honey, as well as alleviate poverty through job creation. Mabela’s honey is currently in high demand, and she hopes to expand her business.

Thoko Njemla began beekeeping 16 years ago in response to a job shortage in the Eastern Cape. As of early 2017, she employed five people and harvested several tonnes of honey each year.

Small honey-producers in South Africa can indeed thrive and beekeeping has the potential to empower even more SMMEs. The new Beegin hive seems set to fast-track that success. 2018 looks to be a most promising year for Brown’s fledgling company of the same name. Since April 2018, Beegin has sold tools and beehives to businesses and individuals across South Africa, in the hope of seeing beekeepers become fully self-sufficient, and beekeeping in general become more sustainable.

Article used courtesy of Scout PR & Social Media

The Beekeeping chapter in the Agri Handbook can be found here.

Understanding the local cannabis industry – “weeding” out confusion

By Mandi Krebs (left), Associate at Hogan Lovells, South Africa

Following the recent landmark decision of the South African Constitutional Court, in which the private and personal use of cannabis was decriminalised, together with the publication of guidelines regarding the cultivation of cannabis for medical, scientific and clinical research purposes, an enhanced interest in the cannabis industry has emerged and investors are keen to be amongst the first to capitalise on the potential growth of this “green” market.

It is well understood that there are various methods used to extract product from the cannabis plant, but what is not so clear is the regulatory classification of the extracted product. For the purposes of this article, we consider the classification of cannabis oil versus hemp seed oil.

It is important to understand how each of these products will be classified, from a South African perspective, and in order to ensure compliance with the appropriate legislative framework.

Framework regulating medicines

As a starting point, “medicines” are regulated in terms of the Medicines Act and is broadly defined to include a substance (or mixture of substances) used, manufactured or sold for use in the treatment, mitigation, modification or prevention of disease. In addition, the Medicines Act contains a list of Scheduled substances.

The local regulatory authority in South Africa (SAHPRA) controls the sale, possession and manufacture of any medicine or Scheduled substance, by providing certain conditions that need to be fulfilled prior to engaging in any such activity (e.g. this may include appropriate licensing with SAHPRA and various other regulatory or government authorities).

In order to apply for registration of a medicine or Scheduled substance, an application should be completed and submitted to SAHPRA, along with the necessary supporting documentation, including a patient information leaflet, package insert, product specifications, control procedures and manufacturing procedures.

Framework regulating foodstuffs

Conversely, where a product or substance is manufactured or sold, for human consumption, and is not a medicine as defined, then it may be regarded as being a foodstuff and will be subject to regulation in terms of the Foodstuffs Act.

Foodstuffs are not subject to a registration process in South Africa and, where a product does not display any medicinal claims and falls within the definition of a foodstuff under the Foodstuffs Act, in principle, no registrations, filings or additional documents will be required in order to sell same in South Africa.

With the above frameworks in mind, one can consider the classification of cannabis derived products.

Classification of cannabis products

Firstly, what is cannabis oil?

This is a product extracted from the cannabis flower (or bud) that would contain both cannabidiol (CBD), the non-psychoactive cannabinoid, and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), in varying concentrations, and depending on the strain of the cannabis plant used as well as various other factors including the extraction method used or the purification method employed to isolate certain compounds. In other words, a cannabis oil could be either a CBD oil (commonly referred to as hemp derived CBD oil) or a THC oil, or a combination thereof.

In terms of the Medicines Act, CBD (when intended for therapeutic purposes) is regarded as being a Schedule 4 substance, and THC is regarded as being a Schedule 6 substance. Having regard to the global standard classification, a CBD oil must contain less than 0.3% concentration of THC in order to be classified as CBD oil.

It is interesting to note that, notwithstanding the above, the Medicines Act still classifies cannabis (i.e. the plant or any portion or product thereof), as a Schedule 7 substance save for certain scenarios, including products that are processed from cannabis seeds, which contains no more than 10 milligram per kilogram (0,001 %) of THC and does not contain whole cannabis seeds.

This classification has given rise to confusion in industry as the Scheduling of CBD has not been refined to include specific details regarding the permissible THC concentration.

If a cannabis oil falls within the broad definition of a “medicine” it will be subject to compulsory registration in terms of the Medicines Act, and where such compulsory registration is required, it would be unlawful to sell it prior to registration with SAHPRA, subject to certain limited exceptions.

Failing to comply with certain provisions of the Medicines Act may result in criminal sanction and could give rise to the imposition of a hefty fine or imprisonment.

Secondly, what is a hemp seed oil?

This is a product extracted from only the seeds of the cannabis plant using a cold press method of extraction. The oil contains no Scheduled substances (no CBD or THC) and is used in a variety of products ranging from foodstuffs, to cosmetics.

Where a hemp seed oil meets the definition of a foodstuff, it may be legally sold in South Africa without being subject to any registrations, however, the product label and the claims made thereon, would have to comply with the provisions of the Food Labelling Regulations.

Conclusion

The current South African cannabis related framework continues to cause confusion, particularly when it comes to an understanding of what constitutes hemp oil, cannabis oil and hemp seed oil, and has given rise to many opportunistic ventures.

Despite the proliferation of products on the market, SAHPRA is yet to issue commercial cannabis related licences and, as a consequence, many continue selling cannabis related products, possibly in contravention of the Medicines Act.

It remains it to be seen exactly how the local cannabis industry will grow and mature within the South African context, while our neighbours in Lesotho are leading the global push in cultivation. A clear understanding of the legal and regulatory landscape entails is imperative in order to successfully cash in on the “green rush”.

Overberg media trip: stabilising soil structures (part 5)

 In this country, soil erosion is a major concern (le Roux & Smith, 2014), and so I was particularly interested to view the ORCT's work in this regard.

A deep gully was visible in the distance, an unwitting consequence of the contour walls under previous tillage systems, bringing water off production lands at quite a speed, to meet here before flowing downhill!

I accompanied a small party who wanted to take a closer look at gully erosion and the Project’s rehabilitation efforts.

Gully systems can be stabilised with gabion structures. Rocks removed from crop lands can be put to good use here.

Lynch walks on hay spread out to rehabilitate this gully. This increases the development of soil and slows down water moving through the gully system.

A combination of gabion walls (centre), geotextiles and soil blankets (bottom left), drift fences (centre right) and hay bales (bottom left) are encouraging the return of vegetation to this gully.

The success of restoring vegetation here is clearly evident. This greatly decreases sediment being discharged into river systems which in turn improves the ability of fish and aquatic invertebrates to survive.

The way we work the soil – our tillage practices – can limit the surface water runoff and prevent the loss of soil, one of the great threats to humanity's habitat (IPBES, 2018). See the "Conservation agriculture" and "Soils" chapters in the Agri Handbook.

Overberg media trip: Conservation management - what's in it for farmers? (part 4)

Lynch gives an overview of conservation work on farms.

The aim of the ORCT's efforts is to improve habitat condition and increase ecosystem resilience. When you are looking after nature, it looks after you.







To reach this stage of ecosystem service, the ORCT looks at halting the degradation caused by:

• incorrect fire regimes 
• alien invasive plant species 
• soil erosion 
• pesticide drift and 
• supplementary feeding.

Landowners are advised to burn in late summer or early autumn (the most favourable time for palatable grasses and bulbs in the Renosterveld), and also not to burn too frequently (every seven to twelve years). The veld should be left for 18 - 24 months afterwards (no grazing). Apart from the expertise supplied by the ORCT, landowners can also access funding for activities like ecological burns and subsequent fencing.

Landowner Christina Stewart responds to questions from the media. The Stewarts run a grain and sheep farm. Mrs Stewart has become a member of the ORCT's board.

Much of the rehabilitation work happens by looking after the watercourses (the subject of the previous blog) and corridors on land. Corridors between farm lands, especially corridors around watercourses, are encouraged as good agricultural practice, and have certain advantages to landowners:

• Funds and expertise can be accessed (like that of the Green Trust and Overberg Renosterveld Conservation Trust).
• Less soil ends up in the water.
• Corridors lead to better quality water (corridors play a role in neutralising chemicals from fertilisers, pesticides etc).
• In times of a drought, this water is of value to farmers.

Several times during the day, Curtis-Scott could be seen photographing flowers. For the farmer's convenience, the handbook that the ORCT makes available to farmers, The Overberg Ruens Renosterveld, is filled with pictures of mammals, birds, insects, reptiles, amphibians, spiders and scorpions, and plants along with scientific name and a brief overview. Most of the photographs are credited to her. I envy the world she sees and knows while we all look on the same view.

Aspalathus and pollinator. Photo used courtesy of Dr Curtis-Scott and the ORCT.

A small party went to have a closer look at rehabilitation efforts in a gully, visible from two kilometres away (covered in the next blog), after which we board the bus.

The Conservation Easement Programme is an inexpensive, long-term conservation commitment by landowners who are given assistance with management, and financial aid towards implementing the agreement.

The management plan in a Conservation Easement sets out on a map the "production" vs "conservation" areas. The agreement becomes part of the title deeds of the property, meaning that it is transferred to future owners of the land as well.

We had been on the tar for some ten kilometres when we noticed three blue cranes on our left. Appreciation gave way to excitement as several more were spotted as the bus came to a halt. I counted a total of seventeen of this species which were previously on the critically endangered list but have now been relegated to vulnerable but stable.

Blue cranes, South Africa's national bird, are no longer critically endangered.

Earlier, Keir Lynch had said: "Conservation didn't save the blue cranes: agriculture did". The bus is on the move again and we travel mostly in silence, glad to be out of the sun as we digest the potential of the interventions we have seen this day.

Overberg media trip: Watercourse Restoration Project (part 3)

The handbook for farmers The Overberg Ruens Renosterveld has the following words in bold: "Your patch is not a single piece of veld, but it is part of a critical network of one of the most threatened habitats on earth!"

We mentioned that 95% of Renosterveld has been converted to cropland. The remaining Renosterveld is fragmented, small (only 10% is larger than 100 hectares), and linked by tiny waterways. Because managing these surviving patches of Renosterveld in isolation would probably lead to further loss, linking corridors between agricultural land and creating awareness of the importance of watercourses has become a very particular focus of the conservation work.

Cameras were set up to survey wildlife moving in the corridor between agricultural land. You’d be amazed at how much life happens in the area around a watercourse between two lands of crops, and how many species depend on the Renosterveld for their existence!

Large grey mongoose, small grey mongoose, water mongoose, yellow mongoose, large-spotted genet, small spotted genet, steenbuck, duiker, meerkat, Cape clawless otter, honeybadger, Aardvark and Aardworf were all among the wildlife captured on camera.

An Aardvark caught on camera. Looking like something out of a Winnie-the-Pooh story, this solitary and nocturnal animal feeds on termites. Photo used courtesy of Dr Curtis-Scott and the ORTC.

The Aardwolf feeds almost exclusively on termites. Its weak jaw and small teeth probably mean that there is no account of it ever being a threat to stock. Photo used courtesy of Dr Curtis-Scott and the ORTC.

Landowners can take watercourses  (perennial or annual streams, rivers and seepage areas) for granted and not notice erosion, salinisation and invasive alien weeds until late in the day. The ORTC provides farmers with advice and assistance with practical management.

 

Overberg media trip: the choice to go left instead of straight (part 2)

We arrived at the river where Lynch addressed us on the surprising find: Heuningnes redfin minnow living in watercourses that seemed unsuitable for indigenous fish. The fish are a critically endangered indigenous species.

He paints the probable scenario of how these fish ended up here; how in the early years of earth as we now know it, the redfin went left instead of straight. As millennia passed and waters subsided, these fish became part of inland rivers and streams. The extreme drought conditions of the past four years have been bad news for the fish with many pools and sections of rivers drying up.

Some people can read palms, others the stars, and come up with a world of information. Watercourses and the fish found in them are a similar "book" for the person with the know-how, and it is fascinating to listen to an analysis.

A blog by the Overberg Renosterveld Conservation Trust (ORCT) on the redfin finding can be read here.

Of interest to us is that good agricultural practice works in the fish's favour. Lynch identifies Conservation Agriculture (CA) as the first. CA allows for greater infiltration of water into the ground and consequently, less pesticides run off into rivers. Secondly, lands which allow a buffer between crops and rivers allow for sediment carrying pesticides and other chemicals to be captured, again preventing them from spoiling water quality in the rivers.

We returned to the vehicles to continue our tour of the ORTC's work in the area.

Overberg media trip: setting the stage (part1)

I had done a quick reconnaissance of Napier, the Overberg Renosterveld and fynbos before setting out on the field trip – but no amount of desk research prepares you for the open spaces of the Overberg! 

Nomonde Mxhalisa, marketing manager of the WWF Nedbank Green Trust, had  invited a delegation to view the work that the Trust is supporting. (What an excellent way to market your work and projects: fly journalists and writers out to see for themselves; their articles and documentaries make a worthy supplement/substitute for any adverts you may take out in the media!)

 

After a sumptuous breakfast at Suntouched Inn, we set off to Hansies River to meet the Overberg Renosterveld Conservation Trust team.

The reader will understand that Renosterveld is the least appreciated component in the Cape Floristic Region. Its (mostly) grasses and shrubs come off third best against its cousins: Fynbos and Strandveld's Proteas, Ericas and Restios.

Renosterveld occurs on rich soil: no wonder it gave way to crops! And the Western Cape, which now produces most of South Africa's wheat, is perhaps first in line when it comes to claiming the "breadbasket of South Africa" title. Today however, less than 5% of the original Renosterveld remains, and its vegetation types are classified as Critically Endangered.

Renosterveld "is considered the richest bulb habitat on Earth", writes the director of the Overberg Renosterveld Conservation Trust (ORCT), Dr Odette Curtis-Scott. It boasts a wide variety of mammals, birds, insects, reptiles, spiders and scorpions, amphibians and plants (more about these later). A second person in the ORCT is Keir Lynch. 

Nomonde Mxhalisa (Green Trust), Onkemetse Nteta (WWF SA), Dr Odette Curtis-Scott and Keir Lynch (ORCT) discuss matters related to the first morning. On the left, Linky Bierman (SABC) looks on.

A fourth-generation South African of Irish descent, with blonde dreadlocks, earrings, and an informed and authoritative presence, Keir is the Project Manager or the Watercourse Restoration Project run by the ORCT. After a brief discussion, we follow him to a tributary of the Kars river where we will hear about Heuningnes Redfin.