home about contact us news
You are here:

Home: ABOUT US

Table of contents


The Western Cape Department of Agriculture is a provincial government department that provides a wide range of development, research and support services to the agricultural community in the Western Cape. The Western Cape is one of nine provinces in South Africa. (Map)

Our administrative headquarters is situated on the historic farm Elsenburg in the picturesque Boland region, while we also accommodate new and commercial farmers at research farms, Further Education and Training Centres, research farms, extension offices, state veterinary offices, and animal health technicians situated throughout the province. This interactive map indicates offices and contacts in each of the regions.

The agricultural sector not only stimulates economic growth in the province, it also plays a major role in creating sustainable job opportunities.

The Department’s service area covers approximately 13 million hectares, of which 3 million hectares are under cultivation and 270,000 hectares are under irrigation.

The Western Cape has a Mediterranean climate with an annual rainfall of more than 2,000 mm in certain areas, although parts of the Little Karoo and the North West Region have rainfall of less than 150 mm per year. This great variation in rainfall and soil types contributes to the wide variety of crops grown in the province.

The Western Cape Department of Agriculture delivers the following broad range of services: