Dr Mogale Sebopetsa, head of the Western Cape government’s agriculture department, depicted a bright future for the province’s farming sector during a keynote address at an event hosted by the Cape Chamber of Trade and Industry and Old Mutual.
Addressing nearly 100 people at the Grand Roche Hotel in Paarl on Wednesday night, Mogale said, “Our mission at the department is to unlock the full potential of agriculture, to enhance the economy, the ecology, and the social wealth of all the people of the Western Cape.”
He pointed to research and innovation as the cornerstones of remaining competitive on a global scale.
“We’re setting ourselves a mammoth task in the province,” he acknowledged. “But we do that because we believe in you. We know that it’s possible working together with yourselves.”
Proactive research and data-driven decisions
Sebopetsa emphasised the need to be proactive in research. “Our research should aim at solving the problems of the future, not the ones we are dealing with here today,” he stressed. He noted the challenges of water scarcity and competition from foreign subsidised farmers.
Data-driven decision making was another key theme. “We don’t just wake up and decide we’re going to do this,” Sebopetsa explained. “We allow science, we allow data, we allow evidence to guide us on what we are able to do.”
The department’s commitment to evidence is exemplified by their numerous studies, including the third iteration of the Fly-over project which showed an increase in high-value crops in the Western Cape.
“We literally fly the whole province to begin to ascertain what sort of trends are developing so that farmers are in a better position to make business decisions.”
Collaboration was championed by Sebopetsa throughout his speech. “We need each other,” he said. “And at the department of agriculture, we really, our middle name should be partnerships.”
He highlighted successful partnerships with industry stakeholders and research institutions.
Land reform was another area where Sebopetsa declared success. “Land reform in the Western Cape works. You won’t find it nowhere else.”
With 83% of supported landreform farmers succeeding, he attributed this achievement to collaboration with industry experts.
Sebopetsa underscored this point by adding, “We’ve met you. We’ve signed MOUs with you. We’re not meeting at the courts. We’re meeting in the offices.
“We’re meeting at farms to support farmers. So we’ve started what we call the community approach, and that’s about since 2009, which creates an ecosystem of support, particularly for your land reform farmers.”
Climate change adaptation
The looming threat of climate change was not ignored.
“Climate change is happening, and it has happened,” Sebopetsa warned. He pointed to the department’s commitment to research and adaptation strategies, including an inter-ministerial committee led by the provincial cabinet.
He mentioned a recent departmental order to support climate change initiatives and a national application seeking further assistance for farmers.
Highlighting the success stories of the table grape industry in optimising water usage during droughts, Sebopetsa stressed the importance of research.
“If we just compare, again, the table grape industry and the wine grape industry, when we had almost no water, we had to actually learn what the minimum thresholds of veneers are. The drought taught us a few lessons,” he said.
Sebopetsa concluded by emphasising the need to change the narrative around agriculture.
“The story of agriculture must be told,” he urged. “Everybody blames agriculture for everything, but I think we have a responsibility to start telling the narrative of agriculture.”
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