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Farmers ploughing in the Nkomazi area, Farmers in the cotton field in the Taung area,
Mpumalanga. North West.

Tertius Schoeman (Cotton SA) with Nantie Fourie (GWK mentor) with
farmers in the Taung area, North West. farmers in the Taung area, North West.

While the availability of funding for smallholder • North West, Taung area: 230 ha irrigation,
cotton farmers remains a major challenge, delivery to GWK Cotton Gin
good progress has been made in this regard. • North West, Zeerust area: 100 ha irrigation,
Smallholder regions that previously produced delivery to GWK Cotton Gin
good quality cotton are coming back into
production and Cotton SA is optimistic about It is expected that about 4 000 ha will
the future expansion of cotton production into be cultivated under dry-land production
rural areas in particular. conditions and more than 650 ha under
It is a fact that smallholder cotton farmers irrigation, the highest figures in a long time.
will have to contribute more and more towards It is very important to Cotton SA to establish
their input costs as public funding has been more smallholder cotton farmers, especially on
drastically reduced during the 2018/19 communal land that is currently unused.
planting season. Cotton SA, in conjunction It is a proven fact that in Africa, cotton
with several private institutions, has designed production can play a crucial role in
a model where smallholder farmers can access alleviating rural poverty, especially where
production funding and by way of session other field crops fail due to heat and rainfall
contracts against the crop, pay back the loans restrictions. The International Cotton Advisory
at the end of the season. This model is currently Committee (ICAC) recently completed a survey
in a pilot programme phase and should be in this regard, concluding that in several
expanded with good results in 2019/20. African countries cotton production supported
An overview of the 2018/19 smallholder 25% of the poverty-relief needed.
cotton production prospects can be summarised Cotton SA undertakes to provide mentor
as follows: and other support services to communities
• Limpopo, Dichoeng area: 100 ha irrigation, interested to commit to successful cotton
delivery to Loskop Cotton Gin production. The best results are obtained
• Mpumalanga, Nkomazi area: 330 ha dry through mechanical cultivation, using the
land, delivery to Loskop Cotton Gin latest seed technology and the continued
• Mpumalanga, Nokaneng area: 670 ha dry involvement of smallholder cotton farmers.
land, delivery to Loskop Cotton Gin Research suggests that small farmers grow
• KwaZulu-Natal, Jozini: proposed 3 000 ha a significant portion of world cotton, and
dry land and 200 ha irrigation, delivery to smallholder cotton farmers in South Africa
Ubongwa Cotton Gin can achieve the same.

Volume 21 No 1 March 2019 | 39