Farmer's Weekly (South Africa)
Days of research for sake of research long gone
In a session that specifically focused on the research and development needs of the nine provinces during the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) and the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development’s joint conference north of Pretoria recently, it became clear that although there were some specific needs, there were many similar needs with regard to the priorities and key challenges.
According to the presentations from the various provinces, a few of the common challenges facing the provinces are climate change, natural disasters, soil degradation and soil loss, access to markets, mining, production risks, operating in silos and lack of coordination, and water availability and quality.
It was stressed during the discussions that the gravity and consequences of the challenges should be recognised and addressed. Some of the shared opportunities include additional crops that can be cultivated, including a new focus on crops such as sorghum and hemp, as well as taking advantage of indigenous crops and focus on cover crops. Other opportunities include the development of additional irrigation areas, fruit production, aquaculture, processing, small-scale pig production, and the development of laboratory services that can help with water, soil, feed, and crops analysis. Research projects should aim to revolutionise the South African landscape through innovation, Cain Mfana Chunda from Mpumalanga’s Department of Agriculture said.
In summary, it was agreed that research should be focused on the specific challenges and needs of the farmer.
According to Dr Suzette Bezuidenhout from the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture, one of the most important aspects in research is that rural farmers and communities must benefit from the research being conducted. “Solutions must be tailormade. How can you give First World answers to resource-poor farmers?”
The days are long gone that one can do research for the sake of research, Dr Mogale Sebopetsa, representing the Western Cape, said. He added that research should provide answers to specific questions. “It must respond to the challenge that farmers face. We believe that there are not enough coordination in this regard yet. We must conduct research on a broader sense where industry, government and the academia collaborate and coordinate their efforts.”