Steps taken to address canola seed shortages

The canola industry once again struggled with seed availability during the 2023 season. This resulted in some farmers having to settle for seed they did not order, and some having to fall back on farm-saved seed, according to Koos Blanckenberg, chairperson of Grain SA’s canola work group.

He said during a regional meeting in Moorreesburg in the Swartland that some farmers also received their seed late, which had a negative impact on production.

To address the situation, Grain SA sent a delegate to Australia in September, from where roughly 95% of the canola seed planted in South Africa derived. Corné Louw, senior economist at Grain SA, described the visit as highly successful. “We have strengthened our relationship with Australian suppliers, and South Africa is now considered as important as any of the Australian states.”

The visit revealed that the Australian canola seed pipeline was healthy and highly competitive, resulting in new, improved varieties being released every year. “There are eight companies focusing on the breeding of new varieties, with three representing 90% of the market. Being able to tap into this pipeline is a huge advantage to South Africa,” Louw said.

From the meetings with suppliers, it emerged that South Africans should order canola seed two years in advance. Blanckenberg explained that this was because it took two years to produce hybrid seed.

“Consider who you use as supplier. We need to shorten the supply chain as far as possible to make it easier to estimate the varieties that would be in demand in two years’ time,” Blanckenberg said. He said there was likely to be enough canola seed to plant in the coming season, preventing a repeat of the seed shortages experienced in 2022 and 2023. However, this might not necessarily be the seed that farmers wanted. He said the situation woud be rectified by 2024 as the South African industry got into the habit of ordering seed two years in advance.

Louw said Grain SA had decided to register Roundup Ready seed for production in South Africa, which was currently primarily produced in the western parts of Australia. “We should look into it as it represents another tool farmers can use in their weed management arsenal.”

Blanckenberg pointed out that a couple of companies were also looking at multiplying seed in South Africa.