South Africa’s dragon fruit industry has had a challenging season, prompting many farmers to leave the sector after unfavourable weather hit production in several regions.
Yet at Maqogo in KwaZulu-Natal’s Tugela Valley, this exotic fruit is bucking the national slump. Situated alongside the Tugela River, the Maqogo community-driven farming project’s dragon fruit is thriving in the area’s hot climate and fertile soil.
Growers in Mpumalanga and the Western Cape have grappled with wet weather, while those in the Eastern Cape have faced overly dry, warm conditions. Maqogo, however, has continued to perform strongly.
Beating the climate odds in KwaZulu-Natal
Ralph Witthoff, one of the farm managers at Maqogo, is positive about the crop’s future. “Our seven hectares of dragon fruit at Maqogo are thriving, but our sister farm, Claridge, outside Pietermaritzburg, is doing even better, and we are looking at a good future for this fruit.”
The first plants were planted at Claridge in 2020, with Maqogo following soon after. Dragon fruit needs warm, frost-free conditions, well-drained soil, reliable rainfall or irrigation, and sturdy trellising, as its stems can grow rapidly. The climate and soil at both Maqogo and Claridge suit these requirements well.
Dragon fruit remains a high-value niche crop in South Africa, grown mainly in warmer regions such as Limpopo, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape. Harvesting generally runs from November to April.
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From degraded soil to a commercial success story
Maqogo began in 2009 as a community upliftment project initiated by the late Reverend Erlo Stegen, founder of the KwaSizabantu Mission in rural Kranskop. At the time, communal livestock had overgrazed the area, thorn shrubs dominated the landscape, and erosion was stripping away the soil.
Stegen recognised the land’s potential and, under his supervision, transformed the fertile soils into community vegetable gardens that provided healthy food and a small income for locals.
Experimental trials followed to determine which fruit crops suited the farm’s unique climate. These included dates, pomegranates, papaya, lemons, grenadillas, grapefruit, mangoes, litchis, and yellow dragon fruit. Over time, Maqogo moved beyond experimentation, and its parent company, Emseni Farming, obtained Global GAP certification for commercial dragon fruit production.
Today, the Dragon Fruit Project remains part of Emseni Farming’s broader community upliftment programme in greater KwaZulu-Natal. It created jobs, contributed to the local value chain, and provided Emseni with an additional income stream. Profits help sustain the outreach activities at the heart of the project, while surrounding communities benefit through agricultural development and skills transfer.
The project has also strengthened food security, promoted agricultural training, and supported rural livelihoods by helping community members participate in sustainable farming. Environmentally, it has turned degraded, overgrazed and thornbush-covered land into productive fields while encouraging responsible farming practices and improved soil management.
While many dragon fruit growers elsewhere in South Africa are under pressure, Maqogo and Claridge show how the right climate, careful management and a clear social purpose can turn a niche crop into a sustainable enterprise.
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