The Agricultural Research Council has over the years significantly contributed to the success of the farming industry on various fronts
According to the ARC-Business Plan 2019/2020, the council transferred 247 technologies through licensing and registered 42 cultivars between 2015 and 2018.
The development of improved cultivars is an ongoing battle as farmers and consumers continuously look for the next best thing. They also bring competitive advantages, which would differ from one cultivar to another, in terms of their marketability, shelf life, appearance as well as disease, pest and climate tolerance.
Amongst many other great cultivars released to the industry over the years, the Agricultural Research Council has improved the Nadorcott mandarin variety, also known as Afourer or ClemenGold, to have no or less seed, with close to two million of trees of one of the resulting varieties, ARCCIT9, already being ordered at the time the Business Plan was released in 2019.
They have also developed low-chill apple varieties, which allows farmers to produce apples in non-traditional regions in the north of South Africa and could reduce climate change related risks in traditional production areas.
The Agricultural Research Council also manages a number of national programmes on behalf of government, with a total of 620 farmers participating in the National Animal Improvement Schemes during 2017 and 2018 and roughly 10 000 smallholder farmers being supported through the Kaonafatso Ya Dikgomo programme farmer support programme.
Besides this, over two hundred students were supported during this time, with 74 receiving their Masters and Doctorate degrees through the Agricultural Research Council Professional Development Programme.
The Agricultural Research Council Onderstepoort Veterinary Research, which has played a huge role over the years in helping farmers prevent and manage devastating livestock diseases, has also lately developed a new live attenuated tissue culture derived heartwater vaccine, which is more farmer friendly and easier to administer than the previous vaccine.
Information is shared via workshops, open days, publications as well as technical reports and manuals.
South Africa’s agricultural sector is one of the world’s most diverse, consisting of corporate and private intensive and extensive crop ...