With a rising local demand in oilcake and vegetable oil, new farmers might want to set their sights on sunflower farming.
In a recent Gather To Grow session on Twitter, experts talk all things sunflowers; from climatic conditions to cultivars, planting times, soil requirements, and so much more.
Clifford Mthimkulu, a sunflower farmer in Senekal, Free State believes that these daisy-like flowers are quite labour-intensive, time-consuming, and delicate.
Discussing the best planting times, Mthimkulu points to November as the optimum time to plant sunflowers. Harvesting, on the other hand, usually happens around April, and is coincidentally the month during which the price for sunflowers spikes.
“If managed correctly, sunflowers are one of the most profitable commodities to plant and high oil prices boost the profit [for farmers],” Mthimkulu tells listeners.
Soil moisture and mechanisation
Agricultural economist at the National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC) Thabile Nkunjana agrees that the sunflower industry is lucrative in Mzansi.
“I think at the moment, there is still going to be a very good market for it,” he says.
“This includes Europe, which is currently going through some difficulties. They normally buy ripe seeds as opposed to sunflower, but the current economic situation there is allowing them to stick with a sunflower, or even palm oil, which is normally viewed as a lower crop compared to other sunflower seeds.”
Experts also unpack soil moisture, the science behind harvesting times, and how to avoid your harvester from burning. Infrastructure and mechanisation required is also discussed.
In this edition of Gather To Grow experts also discuss:
- What to look for and how to spot signs for harvesting;
- Reasons for the persisting high cost of cooking oil; and
- How to grow sunflowers in Mzansi as per temperature and soil conditions.
ALSO READ: How to farm with sunflowers in Mzansi
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