SA wool and mohair take centre stage at Commonwealth gathering

Mzansi’s wool and mohair industries took centre stage at a Commonwealth gathering hosted by Agri-Expo, which welcomed agriculture leaders and guests, including Princess Anne from the United Kingdom.

From helping previously disadvantaged farmers build commercial Angora goat businesses to turning locally produced wool into finished products, industry voices highlighted a shared challenge: how can South Africa create more opportunities and keep more value along the natural fibre chain, from the farm to the final product?

Helping emerging farmers thrive in mohair farming

South Africa remains a global leader in mohair production, but the bigger question is who gets the opportunity to participate and benefit from the industry.

For Beauty Mokgwamme, manager of the Mohair Empowerment Trust at Mohair South Africa, transformation is about helping emerging farmers move towards commercial production.

The trust identifies farmers with suitable land, assesses their infrastructure and carrying capacity, and supports qualifying farmers with Angora goats through an interest-free five-year loan, explained Mokgwamme.

“Our main objective is to commercialise previously disadvantaged farmers.”
Beauty Mokgwamme

She said farmers also receive training in animal production, farm management, financial management, and leadership, while commercial farmers and other industry partners provide mentorship and technical support.

The model is designed to help farmers eventually stand on their own. “We do not give our farmers money. We buy them goats, and we walk the journey with the farmer for five years.”

Mokgwamme noted that farmers repay a portion of their mohair income through the trust, allowing the money to support other farmers entering the industry.

The trust is currently supporting nine projects, while about 12 projects have graduated since 2018. Mokgwamme added that one farmer is expected to complete the programme in four years, ahead of the five-year target, after producing more than a tonne of mohair in six months.

Where there is wool, there is a way

Stefan Gerber, wool producer and founder of Gerber & Co, said the future of South African wool cannot end when the fibre leaves the farm.

Speaking at the Commonwealth gathering, Gerber shared how drought, rising feed costs and the struggle to compete in a global commodity market pushed him to think beyond producing raw wool.

“We had to find solutions for end products and not be commodity growers.”
Stefan Gerber

That thinking has grown into an integrated South African wool and textile value chain, taking fibre from the farm through processing and into finished products.

Gerber & Co’s operations begin with sheep farming at Nuwe Era Boerdery in the Northern Cape. Gerber explained that the business then moves through wool scouring, where greasy wool is cleaned and processed into scoured wool and wool tops. From there, the fibre can be used in non-woven products such as blankets, felt and technical textiles, or move into textile processing, including combing, spinning, weaving, knitting, embroidery and finished garments.

The final stage takes products to retail and business-to-business markets. He further noted that the model is about keeping more of the value chain connected in South Africa, from the farm to finished products.

Gerber also spoke about finding value in what others may consider waste. The company extracts and finds uses for by-products from wool processing, while also exploring biological detergents and composting.

His message is simple: local wool should not have to travel across the world for every stage of processing before returning as an expensive finished product.

“One day in South Africa, we shall wash wool again. We have achieved it.”

For Gerber, the challenge now is bigger than wool alone. It is about whether South Africa can build industries around its agricultural products, create local skills and jobs, and keep more value closer to the farms where production begins.