South Africa – Knowledge Transfer and Field Work

There are two PARASOL partners in South Africa: one is the University of Pretoria (UP, PARTICIPANT 9) - working on large commercial farms; and the other is National Wool Growers’ Association (NWGA, PARTICIPANT 14) - working on small-scale communal farms.  PARASOL activities of NWGA are heavily dependent on UP staff (Dr Jan van Wyk, Prof Gareth Bath) for technical and professional guidance.  What follows describes NWGA activities only.

Part of the EU PARASOL activities are carried out in South Africa in resource-poor communal farming areas.  In these areas land is owned by the group, but animal ownership is individual.  This can lead to some tension between land care and animal performance.  Most of the farmers are resource-poor and have little access to good technical information, as well as poor marketing opportunities.  If South Africa is to give substance to the slogan coined by ex-President Nelson Mandela, namely "a better life for all", then the current situation must be changed dramatically.  An excellent start has been made by NWGA (National Wool Grower’s Association), by showing these farmers practical and affordable ways to shear, class and market wool, resulting in a huge improvement in their incomes. 

The number of sheep owned varies between just 3 up to several hundred, so there are big disparities between owners in terms of wealth and thus ability to implement sound farming practices.  The most popular sheep breed in the region is the Merino or related wool-bearing sheep. Goats are mainly hardy indigenous breeds. Because of problems with theft and predators (mainly jackals), farmers are forced to confine their sheep at night and only allow them out to graze in daylight hours, often some distance from their pens.  This results in exposure to a number of diseases caused by close contact, and also not enough time for grazing - especially in winter, when the nutritional value of the grass is also at its lowest.

Because of the poor financial situation in most of these communities, most able-bodied men are migratory workers and spend the majority of their time away from home.  This places the greatest burden of animal care on the shoulders of women, children and the elderly.

Few private veterinarians are to be found in these areas, since most farmers are unable to pay much for assistance.  Therefore most help comes from state veterinarians (SVs) and animal health technicians (AHTs), but since their priorities have to lie with state controlled diseases and official animal disease regulation, they cannot meet all the needs of small scale farmers.  To some extent these needs are also met by NWGA advisors. 

Simple, cheap, practical and reliable methods of disease control are thus essential to help and reach all farmers.  This applies particularly to worm control, which is the biggest disease problem in sheep and goats in the region.  It is in this area that the PARASOL project will be making the most impact.  Training of NWGA advisors is under way and will shortly be extended to AHTs and SVs.

Translation of instruction pamphlets for the FAMACHA system of worm control has been completed and translation of other useful extension documents is receiving attention.  This will help to spread the message more widely and more comprehensively.

The farmers are keen to learn and improve their skills, which will enable them to improve incomes.  The acceptance of new methods is slow in any farming community but by targeting more progressive groups initially, the message and implementation will eventually be spread more widely.  

• South Africa – Knowledge Transfer and Field Work (PDF, 2 MB)
• The PARASOL Team in South Africa – Woolboer Wool Farmer –
  May 2008 (PDF, 1.96 MB)
  

All pictures: © Gareth Bath