CropLife SA’s impactful biotech trials empower South African farmers, revolutionising decision-making and cultivating a thriving agricultural future.
The fields are alive with the fruits of CropLife SA’s labour as its ground-breaking biotechnology trials continue to yield impressive results. As the season for reflection dawns upon us, Food For Mzansi takes a moment to look back on its work, driven by its mission to help farmers make better decisions.
Chantel Arendse, the visionary plant biotechnology lead at CropLife SA, shares insights into the team’s vital work and its profound impact on South African farmers. Get ready to delve into the world of biotech agriculture and discover how the organisation is shaping the future of farming.
Understanding the global perspective
CropLife’s global mission is undeniably centred on helping farmers produce superior, sustainable agricultural products. With millions of hectares around the world devoted to biotech crops, the future looks promising.
“Based on the latest global statistics, there are about 190 million hectares of biotech crops that are planted in 29 countries. It’s important to note that half of the 190 million hectares of biotech crops are actually cultivated in developing countries by approximately 17 million smallholder farmers,” reveals Arendse.
These farmers are reaping the benefits of improved productivity and an overall enhancement of their livelihoods through the cultivation of biotech crops.
Bringing it home
Arendse emphasises that smallholder farmers in South Africa share the same ambitions and aspirations as their global counterparts. “South African farmers want to succeed in their farming endeavours and run profitable operations,” she asserts. Fortunately, South Africa benefits from a functional regulatory system that facilitates the availability of insect-resistant and herbicide-tolerant crop varieties for local farmers.
Regarding accessibility, Arendse highlights the importance of continuing efforts to assist farmers in reaching their targets and goals within the biotech sphere. Raising awareness levels and sharing fundamental information about available technology tools is crucial.
“This helps farmers have an equal opportunity to access biotech tools, improve their farming practices, and effectively manage pests. In hindsight, our farmer training and information day in February this year proved highly successful. We attracted 53 farmers to the event in Giyani (in Limpopo) and extended this learning opportunity to our extension officers,” explains Arendse.
Highs and lows
Farmers have an insatiable hunger for information on available technology options and basic pest management tools. They seek to understand how these tools can optimise their farming methods and enable them to use inputs more responsibly and safely.
“Overall, the training outcomes were positive. Naturally, we wish we could have reached more farmers in the area,” she adds.
However, Arendse notes that “there were also disappointments in our second planned demonstrations trial site in the Capricorn region, which didn’t go as planned due to unforeseen weather that caused serious crop damage.”
Always room for improvement
CropLife SA acknowledges the need for continuous improvement, particularly in simplifying messages further for farmers and inspiring young people to see a hopeful future in agriculture.
“The range of information we share with our farmers covers various topics, including Bt-maize demonstration trials, pest biology, and understanding effective pest management. These topics can be highly technical, making it challenging to convey the message,” Arendse admits.
South Africa is a diverse country with a rich cultural heritage, and language inclusivity plays a vital role in fostering unity, especially in agriculture. CropLife SA has always strived to accommodate farmers in their native languages during the training phase.
“Despite language constraints and some translation challenges, farmers understood the key messages, and providing resource materials in local languages helped enhance their comprehension,” she states.
Additionally, knowledge transfer proved to be an eye-opening experience for the team. Arendse was thrilled to witness the farmers’ passion and positive feedback from the training sessions.
What’s next for CropLife SA?
The journey continues to flourish for CropLife SA as they strive to create more opportunities for farmers to learn, unlearn, and relearn. The organisation will explore partnerships that enhance farmer training, allowing them to give back more to the nation by harnessing the potential of the soil.
“Despite being a small team at CropLife SA, we look forward to expanding our capacity through collaborations with value chain stakeholders to train a larger number of smallholder farmers. Advocacy, communication, and outreach remain core focuses of CropLife SA’s portfolio. This is particularly true when it comes to ensuring the proper stewardship and responsible use of crop protection tools, including plant biotech,” she concludes.
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