About us |Animal Improvement | Small Stock | Livestock Production | Veld,Forage and Wildlife Ranching Division | Services | Links | Contact Us
Veld, Forage And Wildlife Ranching Division
Sub-Division: Veld And Forage Resources
South African veld resources comprise of the various production environments (biomes), which differ in structure, the nature of forage they provide, and management requirements (FIG. 1.). The veld remains the main and the cheapest source of fodder for South Africa’s animal production sector.
The veld resources can be classified either into veld types on the basis of the general structure and composition of the vegetation in the ecological system, or into seasonal use classes on the basis of the seasonal quality and quantity of the forage it produces. Both classifications are used in defining the value of veld (forage value) for animal production.
Classification into veld types provides valuable information on the types of animals to which the veld, whereas classification based on seasonal quality and quantity of veld influences the type of animal production system to which the area is most suited.
Directorate AP’s Sub-Division: Veld and Forage Resources renders a national service that is primarily concerned with: Providing a framework and guidelines that promote and facilitate the sustainable management of South Africa’s veld and forage resources for the animal production sector, with the capacity to foster and support compliance to the relevant legislation such the Conservation of Agricultural Resources Act, 1983 (Act No. 43 of 1983) regarding the use of these resources.
Services
-
National Veld and Forage Working Group
A National Veld and Forage Working Group (NVFWG) was established in 2005 as a sub- group under the existing National VeldStock Working Group. NVFWG serve as a stakeholder-driven national focus towards sustainable management of veld and forage resources and used as a platform to guide and inform all the issues around veld and forage resources management in the country and beyond.
-
National Rangeland Monitoring and Improvement Programme
A National Rangeland (Veld) Monitoring and Improvement Programme (NRMIP) will serve to integrate all monitoring programmes within the country with the attempt to collate all efforts aimed at rangeland monitoring as well as to set-up monitoring points for future use. The NRMIP is designed to meet national regulatory requirements such as the National Status of Veld and Forage Resources Report and it comprises of the three components; namely:
- Veld and Forage Monitoring and Improvement Scheme
A “Veld and Forage Monitoring and Improvement Scheme”, similar to the Animal and Plant Improvement Schemes, will be established to ensure efficient animal production within the constraints of the natural resource, without degradation of the ecosystem. This will include a national veld and forage assessment, improvement and monitoring system that relate veld and forage condition to animal productivity, efficiency as well as risk management.
- Veld and Forage Monitoring System
This system will be used to enable animal owners at all levels to effectively monitor and evaluate the condition of their veld and forage resources. The system will be linked to a decision support system to reduce the risk of environmental degradation and animal mortality by managing the climatic impact on animal production
- Veld and Forage Capacity Building
Veld and Forage officers are been trained bi-annually and deployed to all the biomes/production areas to provide technical support to inspectors appointed in terms of CARA and to assist with execute veld monitoring, improvement, and evaluation, and farm planning strategies. The deployment of these officers is linked with the ARC’s –Range and Forage Institute.
- Draft Policy for the Sustainable Management of Veld (Range) and Forage Resources in South Africa
Draft Policy for the Sustainable Management of Veld (Range) and Forage Resources in South Africa was developed as part of an Interdepartmental Technical Committee on Agriculture -driven process that highlighted Sustainable Management of Veld and Forage Resources as one of the key result areas.
The Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs published the draft policy in the Government Gazette (June 2006) for public comment and in December 2006, a National Stakeholder Consultation workshop was held to review the policy. The Final stakeholder Consultation workshop will be held on in July 2007 and thereafter, the policy will be taken to Cabinet for endorsement.
The objectives of the policy are:
- Provide a framework and guidelines to promote and facilitate the sustainable use of South Africa’s veld and forage resources for animal production.
- Assist with poverty alleviation and food security through the sustainable use of veld and forage resources for an economically viable animal production sector.
- Support and facilitate the revival of existing structures to facilitate R&D within biomes and across provincial boundaries.
- Provide a framework and guidelines for effective veld and forage monitoring and improvement strategies, with the capacity to support compliance to the relevant legislation/regulations regarding the sustainable use of these resources.
- Provide guidance and motivation for the amendment of more specific legislation on veld and forage management as well as more effective and consistent regulation thereof.
- Veld and Forage Projects
- Project Title: Guidelines for veld-animal production in different biomes (production environments). Description and aim: The project is aimed at combining biological data on animals and veld in order to develop guidelines for integrated veld management in different production environments- and with different types and classes of animals.
- Project Title: The development of a decision support system for managing the impact of climate on grazing capacity Description and aim: The project is aimed at developing an integrated management tool that enables farmers to link veld assessment information to grazing capacity, types and classes of animals as well as early warning charts. This information will help in critical management decisions on issues such as the reduction of stock and the marketing of stock and the possible replacement of animals with species and breeds better adapted to the total production environment.
- Project Title: Training and development of Veld and Forage officers.
Description and aim: The project is aimed at the training of Veld and Forage officers to assist the animal production farmer with the implementation of veld monitoring program, assessment of veld condition and livestock productivity, planning of grazing systems, and determine the impact of the animal factor on productivity of veld for the different eco-regions. The veld and forage officers will provide a specialised support-structure to the current extension service.
- Project Title: The integration of alternative fodder trees (agroforestry systems) into the household rural farming systems.
Description and aim: The project is aimed at improving the fodder-flow in the farming systems of the rural poor through the integration of agroforestry systems (silvo-pastoral), with the added benefit of decreasing the dependency on the valuable and yet vulnerable veld resources by addressing the objectives:
- To increase research capacity in the agroforestry discipline by providing ssupport for two post-graduate students.
- To promote of the use of alternative fodder plants in the household rural farming community through various farmers information day events.
- To provide support to farmer on the use of agroforestry systems through the development of a user-friendly Agroforestry systems Implementation Guideline and a Report listing alternative fodder tree species for South Africa.
Sub-Division: Wildlife Ranching
Background
South African wildlife ranching sector has a continuum of various sub-sectors, such as extensive (minimal human intervention), intensive (supplementary feeding) wildlife ranching, wildlife breeding, hunting and eco-tourism. This sector is integrated with other sectors of the economy, on the one hand with the agricultural sector and on the other hand with tourism and with conservation.
The former Department of Agricultural Development recognised wildlife ranching as a fully-fledged agricultural activity in 1987, and game is considered an agricultural product in terms of the Marketing of Agricultural Product Act 1996 (Act No 47 of 1996). Wildlife ranching as an agricultural activity refers to the implementation of livestock farming principles to fit the natural limitation of individual wildlife species such that wild animal species occurring in the suitable habitat can also occur in another environment with human intervention such as supplementary feeding, provision of water points and sheltering facilities.
Directorate AP’s Sub-Division: Wildlife Ranching renders a national service that is primarily concerned with:
Providing a framework and guidelines that promote and facilitate the sustainable development of South Africa’s wildlife ranching sector, with the capacity to foster and support compliance to the relevant legislation/regulations such the Conservation of Agricultural Resources Act, 1983 (Act No 43 of 1983) and National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 2004 (Act 10 of 2004) regarding the sustainable use of the wildlife resources.
Services
- National Veld and Forage Working Group
A National Wildlife Ranching Working Group (NWRWG) will be established to represent a stakeholder-driven national focus towards sustainable management of wildlife resources. This group will be used as a platform for exchange of knowledge between relevant role-players as well as to guide and inform policy makers on wildlife ranching issues.
- National Rangeland Monitoring and Improvement Programme
The DoA will establish a National Wildlife Ranchers/Farmer Programme for New participants in partnership with relevant government department and non-governmental organizations in order to create an enabling environment for emerging wildlife ranchers/farmers to participate in the entire wildlife ranching value-chain. This programme will comprise of various phases from farmer/rancher mentorship phase to the value-adding and market-access phases.
- Draft Policy for the Sustainable Management of Veld (Range) and Forage Resources in South Africa
Draft Policy for the Development of a Sustainable Wildlife Ranching Sector in South Africa was developed as part of an Interdepartmental Technical Committee on Agriculture -driven process in order to promote the recognition of wildlife ranching as a bonafide agricultural activity.
The Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs published the policy in the Government Gazette (June 2006) for public comment and in November 2006, a National Stakeholder Consultation workshop was held to review the draft policy. An Interdepartmental Technical Workshop was held in May 2007 to foster working relationship wildlife ranching between the relevant government departments in attempts to prepare the draft policy for Cabinet endorsement.
The objectives of the policy are:
- Support the effective management of an ecologically and economically viable wildlife ranching systems.
- Ensure the sustainable management of natural resources as utilised by the wildlife ranching sector.
- Facilitate the development of a set of Norms and Standards, Guidelines and a Framework for a sustainable wildlife ranching sector.
- Promote and support equitable access to and participation in the wildlife ranching sector.
- Provide a framework for effective management of animal health and welfare
- Establish a National Wildlife Ranch / Farm and Animal Database
- Facilitate the promotion and marketing facilities and strategies within the wildlife industry.
- Support relevant poverty alleviation and food safety issues
- Promote research and development, and training and support service