Deciduous fruit farmers anticipate better yields
Deciduous fruit farmers in the Sarah Baartman District who have had to endure souring fortunes as a result of natural disasters in the past three financial years are anticipating a much-needed turnaround.
After suffering a prolonged drought since 2015, their situation worsened when a severe hailstorm ravaged their orchards of apples, pears and plums in 2021, destroying 80% of the fruits just before harvesting season. Misgund Landgoed just outside Joubertina is one of the farms hit hard by the punishing weather, leading to a decline in the farm’s yield that fluctuated just between 2,000 and 3,000 tonnes from its 69 hectares of orchards.
The farm grows different kinds of apples, namely Flash Gala, Royal Gala, Top Red, Grannysmith and Golden Delicious, as well as plums and Forelle pears. Misgund Landgoed is owned by a 134-member trust and it is among the many enterprises to have received support from the Eastern Cape provincial department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform ( DRDAR ) .
“Government extended muchneeded support to the farm,” said Jan Uithaler, deputy chairperson of the board of trustees. “When we struggled with water during the severe drought in the region, the department helped us with a proper irrigation system — some – thing which saw our production growing exponentially.
DRDAR further supported the farm with a tractor and a 1,500 litre boom sprayer,” Uithaler said all the help they received propelled them even further but they suffered severely after the hailstorm. However, they expect their yield from the February harvest to go beyond 3,000 tonnes.
“Our fruit is in perfect condition. We ’ve had enough water. There we re n’t gusting winds that usually blow our fruit off the trees and at times causing them bruises when they thrust on either the stems or bump on each other.
“This year’s yield is definitely going to make a huge difference to our bottom line and help us to service our debts.” Wilfred Malgas, who manages JD Rovon farm which also grows deciduous fruit, projects an increase on their bottom line of just more than R 5 – million.
“The farm has always relied on government grants and other forms of aid but if what we see on our orchards can be a constant trend for at least 10 years, we’d certainly be a sustainable business and be able to pay everything from our own pocket s,” Malgas said.
DRDAR provided the farm fertilisers, a tractor, irrigation system and pesticides and scooped the farm’s dam, its only water source for irrigation. It also subsidised the business with 4,000 litres of fuel per year.
A large portion of the two farms’ produce is exported to international markets like Angola, China, the US and Britain. The business employs more than 200 workers from neighbouring communities with most of the labour force being seasonal workers during the harvesting season.