INTRODUCTION
Agriculture
in the Western Cape is distinguished in several ways from that in the rest of
South Africa, largely because of the physical geographic differences.
The winter rainfall region of the Cape Winelands and the year-round
rainfall of the Southern Cape provide agricultural conditions that make the crop
mix and productive potential unique. One
of the primary features of the region’s agriculture is production stability,
based on stable and relatively adequate winter rainfall, supported by
well-developed infrastructure for both input supply and output processing.
Agriculture
is one of the primary pillars of the Western Cape economy.
Although the province contributes some 14% to the country’s Gross
Domestic Product, it generates almost 23% of the total value added by the
agricultural sector in South Africa, Agriculture accounted for 5,2% of the
Western Cape’s Gross Regional Product of R185,4 billion in 2004.
The
Western Cape has a diverse production capacity with 11 commodities contributing
significantly to agricultural production. Notably,
crop production including fruit, poultry and eggs, winter grains, such as
barley, wheat and hops, viticulture and vegetables together contribute more than
75% of the total output. Consequently,
the diversity of the agricultural enterprises also contributes to the sector’s
general stability.
This
growth trend has been consistent since the political transformation of 1994.
The main industries in the sector include fruit contributing R2,4
billion, winter grain contributing R1,8 billion, white meat valued at R1,6
billion, viticulture worth R1,6 billion and vegetables worth R1,4 billion.
The
Western Cape has proven itself as a suitable producer of agricultural products
since the Cape became a halfway stop en-route to the East, as early as 1652.
The expertise build up through a proud heritage of farming, sophisticated
education, training and research facilities are leveraged through continuous new
developments, which help to promote the sector locally and internationally.
Some
areas of focus and development include:
OVERVIEW
The
agricultural activity of the Western Cape covers an area of 11,5 million
hectares (ha). Although this is
only approximately 12,4% of the total agricultural land available in South
Africa, the Western Cape produces between 55% and 60% of South Africa’s
agricultural exports, which is valued at more than R7 billion per year.
The Western Cape also contributes approximately 20% towards South
Africa’s total agricultural production.
The
nearly 9 700 farms in the province, averaging approximately 1 000 ha in size,
have a combined capital asset base of more than R680 million.
Although the Western Cape produces a variety of produce and agricultural
related commodities, the key export products currently include wine, wool,
ostrich related products and fruit. The
products are high in quality and competitively priced, resulting in good value
for money in a number of international markets.
Source: Wesgro