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Programme (CA-FIP) to address concerns about excessively high soil
degradation rates, profitability and poverty in grain-producing areas.
Progress and major achievements
The CA-FIP at Grain SA has successfully designed, implemented
and managed various key strategic objectives and projects for
CA, mostly funded by the Maize Trust and to a lesser extent by
the Winter Cereal Trust. The CA-FIP has completed its fifth year
(season) and significant momentum has already been built into the
sixth season.
The amount of CA related articles published has increased signifi-
cantly, especially in
SA Graan/Grain
magazine. This is still seen
as very relevant and important and will continue. Other relevant
stakeholders, such as popular magazines (e.g.
Landbouweekblad
and
Farmers Weekly
) were engaged to accelerate this process. All
the articles in
SA Graan/Grain
can be accessed through the
Grain SA website.
Awareness on CA will be continued and accelerated. Any relevant
event of quality, such as the annual KwaZulu-Natal no-till confer-
ence and farmers days, are opportunities to promote CA, including
the role of the Maize Trust and/or Grain SA. A number of successful
awareness events were held in this period, especially the Ottosdal
(13 - 14 March 2018) and the Reitz (19 - 20 March 2018) confer-
ences (the latter jointly done with Riemland Study Group,
Landbou-
weekblad
, VKB and DeKalb Seed) and a number of farmers days
in the KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape smallholder study areas. A
new awareness initiative, the development of a series of CA videos
(Shepherds of the Soil), has been launched in November 2016. Vid-
eos are already available on the website and new videos have been
finalised in 2018. Dr Smith was also a member of the organising
committees of the National LandCare Conference (Bloemfontein,
25 - 27 September) and the second African Conservation Agricul-
ture Conference (Johannesburg, 9 - 11 October 2018), where he
made presentations on the results of the CA-FIP.
The Argentinian collaboration is an important project for Grain SA.
This agreement came to an end in July 2017; its extension has been
signed with Argentinian counterparts, but details of trial implemen-
tation could not be finalised with Argentinean counterparts for the
2017/2018 season. However, several on-farm trials were established
in the various study areas using the Argentinian system and a study
tour was funded for two CA-FIP participants to Argentina during
June 2018.
Participation in national CA forums is seen as an important objective
to continuously improve the enabling environment for CA to flourish
and various forums, conferences and workshops are being sup-
ported in this regard.
The implementation of on-farm, farmer-led research projects
among commercial and smallholder farmers is seen as major
milestones in the implementation and out-scaling of the CA-FIP.
At the moment a number of projects are implemented at various
sites (three with commercial producers at Ottosdal, Reitz and Vrede,
and three with smallholder farmers in KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern
Cape) and follow the innovation systems approach, having producers
in the centre of the innovation process. At this stage these projects
have shown remarkable success, progress and impact.
Amidst the various serious environmental threats and dire eco-
nomic situation of many grain producers, a greater urgency emerged
to scale out CA to more producers much faster. For that purpose,
much more resources are urgently sourced, including manpower,
funding and infrastructure. Various opportunities are continuously
being explored in this regard.
Bewaringslandbou (BIP-BL) begin om bekommernisse oor buiten
sporig hoë gronddegradasiekoerse, winsgewendheid en armoede in
graanproduserende gebiede te ondersoek.
Vordering en belangrikste prestasies
Die BIP-BL by Graan SA het verskeie belangrike strategiese
doelwitte en projekte vir BL met sukses ontwerp, geïmplementeer
en bestuur. Die projekte word grotendeels deur die Mielietrust, en
in ’n mindere mate deur die Wintergraantrust, befonds. Die BIP-BL
het sy vyfde jaar (seisoen) agter die rug en beduidende momentum
is reeds in die sesde seisoen opgebou.
Die getal BL-verwante artikels wat gepubliseer word, het beduidende
toegeneem, veral in die
SA Graan/Grain
-tydskrif. Dit word steeds as
baie relevant en belangrik beskou en sal voortgaan. Ander relevante
belanghebbendes soos gewilde tydskrifte (byvoorbeeld
Landbou-
weekblad
en
Farmers Weekly
) is betrek om die proses te versnel.
Toegang tot al die artikels in
SA Graan/Grain
kan deur die Graan SA-
webwerf verkry word.
Bewustheid van BL sal voortgesit en versnel word. Enige tersaak-
like gehaltegebeure soos die jaarlikse KwaZulu-Natal-konferensie
oor geenbewerking en produsentedae is geleenthede om BL te
bevorder, insluitend die rol van die Mielietrust en/of Graan SA.’n
Aantal suksesvolle bewustheidsgeleenthede is in hierdie tydperk
gehou, veral die Ottosdal- (13 - 14 Maart 2018) en die Reitz-
konferensies (19 - 20 Maart 2018,
laasgenoemde in samewerking
met die Riemland-studiegroep,
Landbouweekblad
, VKB en DeKalb
Seed), en ’n aantal produsentedae in die KwaZulu-Natal- en Oos-
Kaapse kleinskaalse studiegebiede. ’n Nuwe bewustheidsinisiatief,
die ontwikkeling van ’n reeks BL-video’s (Shepherds of the Soil), is
in November 2016 bekend gestel. Video’s is reeds op die web
werf beskikbaar en nuwe video’s is in 2018 saamgestel. Dr. Smith
was ook ’n lid van die organiseringskomitees van die Nasionale
LandCare-konferensie (Bloemfontein, 25 - 27 September), en die
tweede Afrika-bewaringslandboukonferensie (Johannesburg, 9 -
11 Oktober 2018), waar hy aanbiedings oor die resultate van die
BIP-BL gemaak het.
Die Argentynse samewerking was ’n belangrike projek vir Graan SA.
Hierdie ooreenkoms het in Julie 2017 geëindig. Die verlenging is
met die Argentynse kollegas onderteken, maar besonderhede oor
die implementering van proewe vir die 2017/2018-seisoen kon nie
met hulle gefinaliseer word nie. Verskeie proewe op plase is met
behulp van die Argentynse stelsel in die onderskeie studiegebiede
gevestig, en ’n studietoer na Argentinië is in Junie 2018 vir twee
BIP-BL-deelnemers befonds.
Deelname aan nasionale BL-forums word as ’n belangrike doelwit
beskou om die bemagtigende omgewing te verbeter sodat BL kan
floreer, en verskeie forums, konferensies en werkswinkels word in
hierdie verband ondersteun.
Die implementering van navorsingprojekte op plase en onder die
leiding van boere onder kommersiële produsente en kleinskaalse
boere word as belangrike mylpale in die implementering en uitbreiding
van die BIP-BL beskou. Tans word ’n aantal projekte op verskeie
terreine (drie by kommersiële produsente te Ottosdal, Reitz en Vrede,
en drie by kleinskaalse boere in KwaZulu-Natal en die Oos-Kaap)
geïmplementeer en die innoveringstelselbenadering word gevolg,
met boere as die middelpunt van die innoveringsproses. Op hierdie
stadium toon hierdie projekte besondere sukses, vordering en impak.
As gevolg van ernstige omgewingsbedreigings en die swak ekono-
miese situasie van talle graanprodusente is ’n groter dringendheid
geïdentifiseer om BL baie vinniger onder meer produsente bekend
te stel. Vir daardie doel word baie meer hulpbronne dringend beno
dig, insluitend mannekrag, befondsing en infrastruktuur. Verskeie
geleenthede word deurlopend in hierdie verband ondersoek.
Graannavorsing en Beleidsentrum
Grain Research and Policy Centre
Bewaringslandbou
Conservation agriculture