Climate crisis cannot be tackled without shift away from damaging land use, major report warns

The way we currently use land is both a major contributor to climate change and placing unsustainable demands on the land systems on which humans and nature depend, according to an authoritative new report presented in Geneva last week.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Special Report on Climate Change and Land, explores the relationship between climate, people and land in a warming world. It warns that climate change is placing additional stress on land, increasing degradation, biodiversity loss and food insecurity.

Dr Stephen Cornelius, chief advisor on climate change and IPCC lead for WWF, said:

“This report sends a clear message that the way we currently use land is contributing to climate change, while also undermining its ability to support people and nature. We need to see an urgent transformation in our land use. Priorities include protecting and restoring natural ecosystems and moving to sustainable food production and consumption. 

“Good land choices are fundamental to tackling the climate crisis. A shift to sustainable land management must be accompanied by the necessary rapid and deep cuts to fossil fuel emissions if we are to meet the 1.5°C  goal of the Paris Agreement. Action on one alone is not enough.”

Humans use approximately 72% of the global ice-free land surface, with land use contributing around 23% of total human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, primarily through deforestation, habitat conversion for agriculture, and livestock emissions. The removal of forests, conversion of peatlands and other natural ecosystems releases carbon, while at the same time contributing to unprecedented biodiversity loss and land degradation. The food sector alone is responsible  for 75% of deforestation worldwide, with the greatest pressure on forests taking place in the tropics. It is also a major driver of savannah and grassland conversion.

Climate change is already affecting the four pillars of food security - availability, access, utilisation and stability - through increasing temperatures, changing precipitation patterns and greater frequency of some extreme events.

“Delayed action will increase the risk of climate change impacts on food security. Those most at risk are the world’s poorest.

“Early action to address the climate crisis has the potential to provide multiple co-benefits across the whole range of land challenges, with many options contributing positively to sustainable development and other societal goals,” added Cornelius.

Mkhululi Silandela, Senior Manager Sustainable Agriculture with WWF-SA, commented: “This report comes at a time when South Africa is at a cross roads of reviving the economy and managing the triple challenges of poverty, inequality and high unemployment in a changing climate. It confirms that South Africa’s successful turn-around will depend on how we use the opportunity provided by land reform to increase climate resilience, while providing a range of ecosystem services to local communities while contributing positively to sustainable development and other societal goals.”

The report highlights the synergies and trade-offs inherent in our land choices. WWF considers an integrated suite of sustainable land management tools necessary to secure a climate safe future, while supporting food security and nature. Nature-based climate solutions should play a key role. For instance, mangroves help increase climate resilience, while providing a range of ecosystem services to local communities and supporting fish nurseries.

The science presented in the report further underlines that climate, people and nature are fundamentally linked. Efforts to mitigate climate change and halt nature loss must go hand in hand, and be fully integrated with climate adaptation and food security considerations.

Land-based mitigation options make up to a quarter of total mitigation proposed by countries in their country climate plans, submitted to the UN under the Paris Agreement.

“Countries should make full use of nature-based climate solutions, together with other key measures such as reducing fossil fuel emissions, to enhance their commitments under the Paris Agreement by 2020. The first opportunity to announce such bold plans will be the Climate Summit in New York in September,” said Fernanda Carvalho, global policy manager for WWF’s climate and energy practice

On the Expert Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture

Over the last week, readers will have seen the reports and articles about the findings of the Expert Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture. Three of the more useful ones we found were: 

• Reuters. 2019, July 29. "Land reform panel recommends seizures without pay in certain circumstances". Engineering News. Available at https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/land-reform-panel-recommends-seizures-without-pay-in-certain-circumstances-2019-07-29
• Gerber, Jan. 2019, July 29. "Land reform report: 5 questions answered". News 24. Available at https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/land-reform-5-questions-answered-20190729
• Erasmus D. 2019, July 30. "Land panel report ‘takes discussion forward’". Farmer's Weekly. Available at https://www.farmersweekly.co.za/agri-news/south-africa/land-panel-report-takes-discussion-forward/

What follows is from Agri SA's press release.

The Advisory Panel on Land Reform, appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2018 to advise him and the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Land Reform on a way forward with land reform in its broadest meaning and on the issue of compensation. The Panel report covers all the programmes of land reform and contains recommendations on measures for urban and rural land reform. The report addresses aspects such as land tenure in communal areas, tenure security on farms, expropriation, agrarian reform, land demand and beneficiary selection.

Controversial recommendations:

The Panel’s recommendations are comprehensive and, in some cases controversial. Agri SA cannot support these controversial recommendations. Some of the worrying recommendations are:

• The amendment of section 25 of the Constitution to enable expropriation without compensation, a moratorium on farm-evictions and the removal of the 1913 cut-off date for restitution;
• A compensation policy which boils down to a set-formula for compensation to current landowners. The proposal is that there should be a compensation spectrum from zero to minimal to substantial to market-related compensation. There is a suggestion that those who inherited land should be treated differently than those who bought land after 1994.
• Forced on-farm settlements;
• That private title should not be allowed in communal areas;
• The consideration of a land tax,
• Land ceilings;
• A proposal that land for redistribution should be identified at municipal level based on land needs and that the current landowner will be given an opportunity to donate the land, enter into negotiations with the state or face expropriation;
• Water allocation reform where water rights must be re-allocated to smallholder-farmers;
• The regulation of foreign ownership of land.

Other recommendations:

• The Panel recommends a new White Paper process. Whilst Agri SA will always participate in all policy processes that can affect our members, these processes take up a huge amount of time and they take up a lot of resources, also in terms of taxpayers ‘money. From Agri SA’s point of view, and this was also stated in the High-Level Panel Report on Key legislation, the main problems, are not policy related, but can be attributed to poor implementation, inadequate budgets and corruption. These are the things that require priority focus and attention, not the policy side of things.
• A National Land Reform Framework Bill: Although there may be merit in drafting redistribution legislation, it is not entirely clear what aspects such a Bill will address and how. There are indications in the Report that such legislation may be used to target and then forcefully acquire land identified by municipalities as being required for redistribution. This is an invitation for corrupt practices and misuse of power. Coupled with proposals for expropriation without or at minimal compensation, this will exasperate uncertainty in farming areas and further contribute to disinvestment in the farming sector.
• Subdivision of land: Whilst Agri SA agrees that some subdivision may be necessary, wholesale subdivision of a scare resource in the absence of legislation that protects high quality agricultural land, is dangerous for the future of food security in our country.
• Land donations: Agri SA has cautioned that the numbers of farmers who are in a position to donate land should not be over-estimated. Many farmers are struggling to make ends meet and economy of scale is a survival mechanism for farmers. Also, no real incentives are in place as yet to encourage farmers who can do so, to donate land;
• Water rights re-allocation: This is actually a debate on its own. Agri SA needs to point out that water is a scare resource in South Africa and that commercial irrigation farmers make a huge contribution to food production and export earnings.
• Registrable rights for farm dwellers: There are recommendations contained in the report that seem to indicate an intention to register the tenure rights of farm dwellers who are residing on commercial farms and to then enforce those rights in competition with the rights of the current landowner. This reminds one of the 2010 Land Tenure Bill, which was very controversial at the time;

 

Recommendations that can be welcomed, include:

• Measures must be taken to curb corruption;
• A land audit of public and private land that takes into account the Agri SA / ADS/ Landbouweekblad audit results;
• Establishment of a Land Reform Fund;
• Transparent beneficiary selection;
• Strengthening the capacity of the Restitution Commission in order to enable them to expedite claims;
• The development of outcome indicators for successful land reform monitoring and evaluation.

The alternative report:

Agri SA has also studied the alternative report submitted by Dan Kriek and Nick Serfontein. This report focusses on the role of the free market and the private sector in land reform and contains practical proposals of how agricultural land reform can be achieved in a sustainable manner. Important elements of the alternative report are:

• A land depository;
• A land reform fund;
• Joint ventures;
• Farmer support;
• Enablers / incentives for participation by commercial farmers;
• A Social compact
• Beneficiary selection

Agri SA broadly supports the principles of these proposals. We are strongly of the view that land reform in farming areas will take a huge step forward with the establishment of an agricultural development agency where the private sector takes a leading role in driving and financing sustainable land reform. We also believe that we should build on existing best practice models such as the ones showcased at the Bela-Bela land summit last year.

Way forward

Agri SA is concerned about several aspects of the report and particularly the controversial recommendations highlighted earlier. We are of the view that rather than having more time-consuming consultation processes, the focus should be om working together and implementing meaningful projects now. However, should these consultation processes unfold, we will participate fully and make sure that the economic realities, which are not sufficiently addressed in the report are put on the table. In the meantime, Agri SA will continue on full steam with its many transformation initiatives and with the establishment of an agri development fund.

Source: Press release (adapted)

Turning livestock owners into livestock farmers

“We wanted to take people from being livestock owners to being livestock farmers”.

My ears pricked up. The words were spoken by Nicky McLeod at the WWF SA Living Planet Conference in Menlyn, Pretoria. She and Sissie Matela had been awarded the WWF SA 2019 Living Planet Award [see separate blog].

The latest Profile of the South African Beef Market Value Chain (2018) speaks of there being some 240 000 small-scale farmers and 3 million subsistence farmers that own around 5.69 million cattle (DAFF, 2018). The challenge has always been to bring these people section into the value chain. There have been various studies and initiatives to this end (see “Beef cattle farming” page). 

The ideal of nature conservation is when it is linked with the wellbeing of people. This is what has happened since 2013 in the northern part of the Eastern Cape. The Umzimvubu Catchment Partnership – a grouping of Conservation SA and local NGOs like LIMA Rural Development Foundation, the Institute for Natural Resources, and Environmental and Rural Solutions – and the community have undertaken several projects, one of which is Meat Naturally.

Meat Naturally has gone hand-in-hand with rotational grazing and other Good Agricultural Practice – and seen 3 000 hectares of rangeland restored. Mobile livestock auctions have seen R30 million income and 900 resultant “jobs”.

Other projects involve beekeeping, river health, making charcoal and EcoFutures, the latter being a 12-month internship bringing youth into the green economy.

Read more at https://umzimvubu.org

Matatiele duo wins Living Planet Award 2019

Press release

Two women who are the powerhouse behind a non-profit, social enterprise organisation, Environmental and Rural Solutions, based in Matatiele in the Eastern Cape have been named the winners of WWF South Africa’s Living Planet Award for 2019.

Nicky McLeod and Sissie Matela, Living Planet Award winners 2019

Sissie Matela and Nicky McLeod were named the winners of this prestigious environmental award at WWF’s Annual Living Planet Conference which took place in Pretoria yesterday. The award recognises exceptional South Africans who inspire people to live in harmony with nature for the benefit of our country and the wellbeing of all.

This year’s conference delved into South Africa’s food system and the challenges that lie ahead as we grapple with under nutrition and the environmental degradation and climate impact of food production and consumption. Among the participants were celebrity chef Zola Nene, agricultural economist Wandile Sihlobe and the director of the Southern African Food Lab Scott Drimie.

Introducing the award winners, CEO of WWF South Africa Dr Morné du Plessis, said: “Today we honour two women who had a vision 10 years ago, for both people and nature; a vision to engage multiple partners and many local communities while addressing diverse yet inter-connected social and environmental needs.

“Over the last decade, the ERS has convened and led the Umzimvubu Catchment Partnership Programme which brings together 35 organisations to govern the landscape and the water resources in the area. It is here that the vision and passion of these two remarkable woman has created one of South Africa’s most innovative and collaborative approaches and catchment management models.”

The Umzimvubu River and its surrounds is home to some 20% of the Eastern Cape’s population (1.4 million people) and is one of South Africa’s few remaining near natural river systems. With 70% of the land under communal ownership, those who live along its course are highly dependent on the river system for water, grazing, household materials and local food security.

Upon hearing the news of the award, the duo responded: “This is such an honour for us and our little enterprise! We have been plodding along, hoping that we are changing lives and hopefully the grass is growing green and the water is getting clearer. Recognition like this is so motivating and we want to do more. Our progress has not been just due to our own work but also our entire team and the fantastic partners we work with. As the saying goes, a ship cannot sail without the crew!”


More about the winners:

Lipalesa Sissie Matela (Director, ERS): With more than 20 years of hands-on experience, Sissie Matela is a soil scientist by training with a Masters in Agronomy and Soil Science. She has worked as a field soil scientist, university lecturer, researcher, trainer and director of ERS.She co-ordinated a development project in Lesotho and has worked for organisations such as the CSIR, IUCN, the World Bank and the Food and Agricultural Organisation.

Nicky McLeod (Director and Manager, ERS) has worked extensively in rural areas on development initiatives including soil conservation, low-input vegetable production as well as water supply and sanitation. With an Honours in Environmental Science and a diploma in environmental education and permaculture, she has 14 years of hands-on experience. Her skills range from conducting feasibility assessments and drawing up business plans to managing projects and facilitating community workshops. Nicky has also made inputs into policy debates that have led to the formalising of environmental laws in SA.

An account of a morning with the Masisizane Fund

We received (and accepted) the invitation from Nontobeko Vilakati for the 2019 MasisizaneFund Annual Client Market Day (#MasisizaneCMD19). The Masisizane Fund is “a non-profit funding entity established by Old Mutual in consultation with the National Treasury of South Africa following the closure of Old Mutual’s Unclaimed Share Schemes Trust”. It provides crucial support to SMMEs in the agribusiness, manufacturing and franchising sectors. 

I arrived at 107 Rivonia Road, and was shown where the event was taking place: the Old Mutual Retail Space. People milled around and I wandered to the showcased entrepreneur stands.

 The first was from the franchise sector. Masisizane had put up 50% of the capital required to acquire and operate the Caltex service station in 2018. At the far end was a co-funded 100% black-owned and operated legal business, and CTU Manufacturing Primary Co-operative. This co-op manufactures hospital linen and apparel/attire and uniforms. Another Masisizane client offers voice analysis technology (see www.lexforensica.co.za), but it was Bamboo Innovations Africa (BIA), obviously an agribusiness, that caught my attention and I wandered closer. 

BIA was begun in 2012 by Peloyotlhe Gabaraane, initially to manage projects aimed at growing and processing bamboo. For reasons including funding which did not arrive, Gabaraane switched to the fresh produce sector. While Gabaraane is engaged in a discussion with two others, I talk to Clement Mawele (Masisizane Fund) about the Masisizane funding model. Although, like banks, Masisizane takes into account things like assets and turnover, it is more interested in the business plan, the suppliers, market and partners. It was through its provincial offices that Gabaraane approached the Fund.

The opportunity arises to speak to Gabaraane, and excusing myself I step forward and greet him. He explains why he left bamboo after he had picked up an interest in cash crops. He accessed CASP funds offered by the Department of Agriculture which enabled him to become visible, he says. It was the loan from the Masisizane Fund though which enabled him to acquire and construct the closed-circuit hydroponic system in 2018 in the Klupmuts farming area in the Western Cape.  

BIA has 2 hectares under shade tunnels, and since it began operations in September 2018, has sold more than 400 000 heads of lettuce. He speaks of challenges posed by pests and diseases, and how he uses integrated pest management (including biocontrol) to manage these. Among his customers are Shoprite, Spar, Pick n Pay. A packhouse is planned in the future as doors are opening for the business. But proceedings have begun, we must leave it there and I make my way to a chair.

We hear from personnel like Zizipho Nyanga (CEO) and Tabby Tsengiwe how access to funding and markets are the problems for entrepreneurs, and how Masisizane has funded 400 enterprises (29% in agriculture).

A panel discussion takes place, with four clients of the Masisizane Fund answering and discussing questions put to them, and then fielding questions from the floor.

 What is Gabaraane favourite South African brand? The South African flag, he says. There is a South Africa out there that is “real”, he says; that is not trying to hide anything. We should stand behind it. He is very positive of the area and people where he farms, and says the most unlikely characters greet him.

How has Masisizane Fund helped him? He speaks of how Black farmers struggle to become visible; how many opportunities lie just out of reach. He needed infrastructure to grow lettuce, to switch to a better way of farming. Hydroponics is the ideal for him: it is environmentally-friendly; saves water; because the crop isn’t grown in soil it is easier to prepare for market. The assistance provided him means he can compete on a global level now. It is “a complete transformation!”

He describes further the expertise that he has picked up – being able to identify pests and diseases, recognising what nutrients are lacking in the crop and how to address this. Previously he had to depend on another’s expertise. It is “priceless” what he has gained.

His encouragement to budding entrepreneurs is that opportunity will come from someone, somewhere. Diligence right from the beginning is important. The diligence begins with the forms you have to fill in when applying for loans. He speaks about how his lead began with a phone number on the Department of Agriculture website; how after his first unsuccessful interview for CASP funding he refined his business plan and how he applied again because the vetting staff “hadn’t heard him”.

You don’t need “fancy words” to get there. You need vision. And to ASK.

The CTU Manufacturing Primary Co-operative was asked “why the co-operative model?” Her answer was another takeaway. Co-ops teach responsibility and self-reliance. People are partners, not employees. There is accountability on a daily basis. At the end of the day each person knows what their contribution has been because there are agreed measurables to be complied with.

 The keynote speaker, Andile Khumalo, referred to the observation that there are more people in the welfare system than there are in employment. South Africa is a rich country filled with poor people – 55% of the population lives on less than R1 000 a month.

Tambo and Mandela met the challenges of their time. (1)The challenge of today is income inequality. (2) Entrepreneurship is the answer. (3) Creating economic opportunities in townships and in the rural areas – where people live – is where entrepreneurs should focus. Khumalo tells us that Ga-Rankuwa, an area some 40 kilometres north of Pretoria, is the most expensive area in the country to live in – because of the proportion of income that must be spent on travelling to the urban areas.

After a short address by Iain Williamson, Chief Operating Officer. He cuts the Masisizane Fund's birthday cake (it's the 12th anniversary of its founding) and we break for a light lunch.

Relevant pages on AgribookDigital include "Finance for new farmers & SMMEs", "Hydroponics & undercover growing", "Co-operatives", "Vegetables" and "The urban question".

Commercial farmers: brainstorming solutions

The hall fills up for the summit

Last week the media was invited to the TLU SA Economic Sustainability Summit. The issues are serious and the same, no matter which national farmer body represents you. State support for commercial agriculture is minimal. Farmers carry production risk completely on their own, even if the whole value chain is dependent on them for its existence.

The day saw presentations by three TLU personnel/members: Gawie van Rensburg and Prof Koos de la Rey of the Economic Sustainability Committee, and Bennie van Zyl, general manager of the TLU SA. A fourth speaker, Dr Gawie du Toit, is an agronomist in the private sector. These talks listed the financial, logistical, environmental, legislative and other challenges facing farmers. The last speaker used case studies to show that maximum returns do not always equate to maximum profit.

Gawie du Toit addresses the gathering. To the left is Bennie van Zyl; Gawie van Rensburg is on the right.

An hour plus saw contributions from the floor, followed by a summation from the TLU president, Louis Meintjies, along with the drawing up of a plan of action.

Is there a way to finance the farm outside of banks and agricultural businesses (the old co-ops)? What other models exist? How can we spread the risk more fairly and sustainably across the whole value chain? Gerrie Strydom, a business consultant, offered his services to source funds and to help with business plans and red tape.

There is encouragement for farmers themselves to become part of the wider value chain.

Finding alternative revenue streams was suggested. These included agritourism, medicinal plants, game meat, cheese and other value add activities, with an emphasis on product quality.

The value of export markets, Europe in particular, was emphasised. Skills and other assistance could be sought from there, and elsewhere. The TLU SA recently sent van Zyl to Israel to look at technology there.

Bennie van Zyl is a big advantage for the TLU SA, as anyone in commercial agricultural circles will confirm. No one who has experienced his smile and big handshake more than once forgets him. He is passionate about what he believes in, and makes solutions to problems seem simple. On this day - whatever your views are - there is much to agree on.

He champions the idea of having mega farms, not mega farmers. A group of farmers combining resources and buying power holds many advantages over farming on your own. These include:

• Securing finance and markets
• Gaining economies of scale
• Labour/access to mechanisation
• Greater access to expertise
• Safety and a sense of community
• Better bridges with consumers

These collective ventures would be contracts, with entrant and exit clauses, which translates into no-one having to carry dead wood, individuals who are not really contributing to the greater good.

Van Zyl also champions negotiations along the value chain to spread the risk. It is after all in the interests of the entire value chain (and rural communities and beyond) that commercial farmers stay in business.

Volunteers are called for to draw up a plan of action, after which lunch is served.

Relevant pages on Agribook.Digital include “Organised agriculture”, “Indigenous medicinal plants”, “Wildlife ranching”, “Exporting” and the whole "Adding value" section (which includes agritourism and dairy processing).

More readers write: a sample of recent requests

Dear Sir/ madam

I want to know what requirement needed if you need a loan to start a cows farming business. I have land the problem is start up capital of R80 000 and the big problem I am not in employment I'm age of 24.  
Thank you

Hi Fikakahle

If you already have land you should speak to your provincial department of agriculture and the IDC about their Nguni Cattle project. They give you ten cows (or whatever) and after a few years you give ten cows back, but by that time those cows have had calves and given you a chance to start your own herd.

You should also speak to NERPO, an organisation that helps people like you with their cattle operations. See http://nerpo.org.za/.

Most other groups will only help you if you have a mentor i.e. someone who is already a cattle farmer and who can show you the way, or if you have some training/qualification.

After that, I can only refer you to the "Beef cattle farming" and "Finance for new farmers and SMMEs" pages and hope with you that you get some assistance there. See https://agribook.co.za/livestock/beef-cattle/ and https://agribook.co.za/marketing-finance/finance-for-new-farmers-and-smmes/.

Best wishes,

 *******************************************************************

I am interested in starting a chicken farming business dealing with Specifically Layer Hens and Broiler Chickens so I need to get suppliers of chickens and info of chicken farming kind regards

Hi Lerato

There is a lot of information on the poultry and chicken farming page, see https://agribook.co.za/livestock/poultry/.

Suppliers of chicken are listed under the companies involved heading, see specifically the Some suppliers of chicks and breeding stock subheading at https://agribook.co.za/livestock/poultry/#companies.

There is help for interested new farmers. Find details of associations, people who do training and some very useful sources of information (brochures, articles and books), all on this web page.

Best wishes,

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I'm interested in farming with emphasis on crop farming. Could you please assist me with more information on where I can get assistance on drawing up a professional agri-business plan. people that can also assist with soil profiling and suitability tests for my crops, fertilizer requirements and suitable irrigation methods for my crops.
Thank you in advance.

Hi Nathi

The main source of help will probably be your nearest provincial department of agriculture. They have laboratories, for example, to help with soil tests and advice for crops. They run short courses as well to impart the crucial skills that you will need. The Agricultural Research Council also does a lot of work in assisting people get their enterprises off the ground. There are many other sources of help which we run through on the emerging farmer support page. See https://agribook.co.za/issues-here-and-beyond-our-borders/emerging-farmer-support/.

The Department of Agriculture designed many publications, including one on business plans, which are available on its website. See https://www.daff.gov.za/daffweb3/Portals/0/General%20Publications/Training%20manuals%20Cooperatives%20BOOK%2007.pdf.

The different crops are listed under the agronomy, forestry & industrial crops and horticulture sections on our website. Find these under "Contents" on the landing page of the Agribook website. You will find the notes helpful whether you already know what you wish to grow or not.

Best wishes,

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We have sunflower seeds around bloemfontein and we  would like you to link us with the buyers

Hi Graff

Marketing the crop can be as much work as growing it, unless you have this tied down before growing it. I'm trusting you aren't expecting the name and phone number of an individual who will accept the seeds and pay you today. I can't help you with that, but let's look at options.

• The South African Cereals and Oilseeds Trade Association (SACOTA) will be your first bet. See https://sacota.co.za/. 
• The nearest commercial silo owners are another. You will know the big silos near Bloem and be aware of which companies operate there. These will probably be Senwes or VKB. 
• You also have the option of seed sellers. The companies that sell sunflower seeds are listed at http://sansor.org/sunflower/ 
• You also have the option of selling them to supermarkets or pet shops as bird seed. There are probably health shops in Bloemfontein too who might be interested, particularly if your seeds are organically grown. 
• Finally, you could crush the seeds and sell the oil. There is usually more profit when you process the crop which will be true in your case too. Role players like the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) Agricultural Engineering could help you with equipment like this. The ARC has a presence at Glen, just outside Bloemfontein. There will be other role players there to give you advice.
  

My best wishes,