The Sustainability Initiative of South Africa (SIZA) recently visited its subscribers in Limpopo’s Tzaneen, Hoedspruit, and Letsitele areas. During several farm visits and an in-person training, the SIZA team engaged directly with suppliers to better understand their unique challenges and innovative solutions. In addition, the SIZA team conducted between-audit monitoring visits, provided audit-preparation support, and disseminated key SIZA guidance via training.
A key lesson learned was that Limpopo’s exceptional biodiversity presents several challenges in harmonising conservation with production, and how to maximise the value of conservation through integrated management systems.
Making “pests” profitable
During our visit, the SIZA team observed the diverse wildlife that roams the Limpopo area. Often, certain wildlife (e.g., monkeys, baboons, and hippopotamuses) are viewed as a “pest” rather than an “asset” with conservation value.
Although these wildlife have the capacity to disrupt agricultural production, we have seen the innovative methods suppliers are using to harmoniously conserve wildlife while mitigating potential on-site damage, including:
Baboons and monkeys:
- Vegetation buffers: Retaining natural vegetation corridors in specific areas encourages troops of baboons and monkeys to remain in designated areas, reducing incursions into orchards.
- Selective fencing: Installing baboon-proof fencing around high-value orchards, or orchards that tend to attract primates (i.e., soft citrus), deters crop raids without disrupting animal movement elsewhere on the farm.
Hippopotamuses:
- Protecting at-risk water sources: The fencing off of dams close to human activity, or prone to erosion or infrastructure damage, thereby directing hippos towards larger, low-risk pans.
- Habitat incentives: Enhancing remote dams with preferred forage plants encourages hippopotamuses towards them, ideally located away from areas where humans are present and/or production areas.
By reimagining wildlife as an asset rather than a cost, suppliers can simultaneously reduce production risks while enhancing conservation value, such as increased access to high-value markets via audit standards like LEAF Marque. They can also bring value to the region in the form of ecotourism, which contributes significantly to Limpopo’s GDP.
Integrating wildlife with pest management
Additionally, the SIZA team observed supplier efforts to embrace integrated pest management via habitat conservation. This includes the erection of owl and bat boxes to promote their conservation, which in turn provides consistent ecosystem services in the form of pest management. In the long run, this induces a cost-saving for farms in the form of reduced pesticides.
Integrating workers and wildlife
The SIZA team also experienced innovative integrated farm management(IFM) initiatives that align employee wellbeing with conservation goals. This included a bird-spotting photo competition amongst workers, who can photograph and identify the most unique bird species on the farm. Other examples include social competitions, encouraging the identification of indigenous tree species, and plans to erect picnic spots at dams with noticeboards on the type of biodiversity found in each dam. These interventions are sought after by audit standards such as LEAF Marque, allowing access to high-value markets. These interventions also reduce the effort and cost associated with scouting, and directly contribute to the human and cultural capital of the farm by enhancing worker well-being.
Overall, SIZA commends the farmers in the Tzaneen, Hoedspruit, and Letsitele areas of Limpopo for having the foresight to realise the value that wildlife can bring to a farm, including the farming community, and surrounding area.
Dam with forage vegetation left open for hippos, situated away from human settlement.
Dam with fencing to protect water infrastructure, and dam lining, and prevent erosion.
