Although the rise of communal wool production is regarded as one of the greatest transformation success stories in South African agriculture, communal farmers still produce wool without owning land, with inadequate infrastructure and equipment, under the threat of stock theft, and often with questionable breeding material.
By Fredalette Uys
These challenges were discussed during a session on an inclusive and sustainable wool sheep economy at the annual congress of the National Wool Growers’ Association (NWGA) held on 3 June in Jeffreys Bay in the Eastern Cape.
Many obstacles still prevent communal farmers from reaching commercial production levels, said Dominic Tsoananyana, chairperson of the Eastern Cape Communal Wool Growers Association. The first is farming without land ownership, as land is controlled by traditional authorities. “We cannot do anything without the permission of the chief,” said Tsoananyana.
Communal farmers also struggle to gain recognition from commercial banks and financial institutions. “We do not have opportunities and nobody wants to finance us, which makes farming difficult,” he said.
Farming in communal areas is extremely challenging, said Khanyiso Mzayifani, an NWGA production advisor. His role is to help communal wool farmers produce wool profitably and maintain sustainable production volumes.
Black wool producers are increasing production, while commercial wool production is stabilising or even declining, said Mfundo Macanda, acting deputy director-general for integrated agricultural services at the Eastern Cape Department of Agriculture. More targeted support is needed to narrow the gap between the two sectors.
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Genetic improvement
Tsoananyana and other delegates expressed concern about the NWGA ram project, also known as the genetic improvement project, which was discontinued in 2019 after government funding was withdrawn.
Under the project, the NWGA distributed about 3 000 high-quality breeding rams annually in communal areas, which were exchanged for inferior rams.
According to Tsoananyana, quality rams are no longer replacing inferior breeding stock. Although the Eastern Cape Department of Agriculture and BKB still provide rams, support is insufficient.
Without dedicated ram camps, farmers cannot effectively manage superior rams or keep them separate from inferior stock.
Mzayifani agreed that substantial support is still needed to improve the genetics of communal sheep flocks. The impact of the project’s absence is evident in declining wool quality despite increasing wool volumes.
Willem Goosen, NWGA manager for infrastructure and market development in communal areas, said more farmers are now buying their own rams, supplemented by animals supplied by the Eastern Cape of Department of Agriculture and BKB.
BKB assists struggling farmers through a genetic improvement programme, said Sivuyile Mvinjelwa from BKB, who represented the broker community. One approach is supplying enough rams to cover all breeding ewes because separate breeding camps are generally unavailable.
BKB is also working with Ramsem to use artificial insemination to accelerate genetic progress in selected communities. At a shearing shed in Cacadu (formerly known as Lady Frere), synchronisation is used to improve lambing management. This has benefited farmers whose lambing seasons previously stretched from May to August.
BKB is also collaborating with Nelson Mandela University to use scanning technology to determine pregnancy status in ewes when synchronisation or artificial insemination programmes are implemented.
Groups of rams are maintained by some BKB communal field officers for synchronisation programmes, although demand is high and bookings must be made in advance.
Mvinjelwa warned that when communal farmers receive poor-quality rams from government sources, it is often because commercial farmers have sold inferior animals into the system. He called for greater cooperation from commercial farmers to build a more competitive industry.
Tsoananyana said he would like to see communal farmers breeding animals of the same quality as commercial producers. “We must work together with commercial farmers to establish the correct standards because we know what type of wool the market requires.”
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Infrastructure challenges
Despite these difficulties, communal farmers continue to grow the industry with limited infrastructure. “When we take animals to auction, we often do not have loading ramps, kraals or proper handling facilities,” said Tsoananyana.
According to Mzayifani, a lack of suitable production equipment remains a major challenge. Wool contamination and poor classing ultimately reduce farmers’ wool income. “We need intervention from government and relevant stakeholders to make our work easier.”
Mvinjelwa added: “In wool production, post-harvest handling is what determines value and income for farmers.”
His department currently builds about 20 shearing sheds annually in communal communities, yet about 2 000 shearing organisations operate across these communal production areas. He believes the industry should take a more proactive approach to identifying suitable sites for shearing sheds, rather than relying solely on applications from farmers, to ensure facilities are built where they are most needed and fully utilised.”
Not all communal farmers are the same
Mvinjelwa warned against generalising all communal wool farmers as producers of contaminated wool. “There are farmers producing exceptionally high-quality wool. One communal farmer in Komani [formerly known as Queenstown] received R204/kg for his wool and outperformed commercial farmers in his area.”
He encouraged wool buyers to differentiate more carefully between quality grades when marketing communal wool, to ensure farmers are fairly rewarded for their efforts.
Macanda agreed that communal farmers should not be treated as a single homogeneous group. “You cannot have one programme that covers every farmer,” he said.
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Multiple challenges
In the mountainous regions of the Eastern Cape, inadequate access roads remain a major problem, particularly for farmers with more than 100 sheep who are expected to graze livestock outside their communities.
“If we cannot obtain fencing that allows us to establish winter grazing crops, we face serious challenges,” said Tsoananyana.
Without fencing, farmers are also more vulnerable to biosecurity risks. Stock theft remains another major obstacle. According to Tsoananyana, some communal areas experience some of the highest levels of livestock theft in the country, despite active farmer forums.
While he thanked the Department of Agriculture for installing surveillance cameras, criminals have already established escape routes. He urged the police to deploy specialised units and collaborate more closely with farmer forums.
SK Makinana, a commercial wool farmer and the first black communal chairperson of the NWGA, expressed concern about inadequate training for prosecutors and magistrates dealing with stock-theft cases. “The police arrest people, but because of weak prosecution, they are released again,” he said.
Mzayifani also invited technology companies to introduce innovations that could help communal farmers improve productivity and management.
Makinana expressed concern about the lack of younger people entering the industry. He suggested that schoolchildren should be exposed to wool farming at an early age. A publication produced by Cape Wools SA could assist in this regard.
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Background
Since 1998, the NWGA has supported communal wool farmers through production services, technical advisors, infrastructure development and genetic improvement through the ram project. However, the project was suspended in 2019 because of a shortage of government funding.
The communal wool sector, concentrated mainly in the former homelands of the Eastern Cape, consists of approximately 45 000 farmers farming across about 45 000 km².
According to Dan Kriek, general manager of the NWGA, the communal wool clip is a remarkable case study in cooperation. “It is the greatest development success story in South Africa.”
He added that the achievement was made possible through cooperation between the NWGA and government, which provided funding and staff support.
The total value of the communal wool clip reached a peak of R383 million during the 2017/18 season, when 5.4 million kilograms of wool were sold at an average price of R70/kg.
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According to Kriek, values have since levelled off, but there is significant potential for renewed growth.
He believes improved weaning percentages represent a sleeping giant for future expansion. In some areas, weaning rates have already increased from 20% to 75%.
Professor Johann Kirsten, director of the Bureau for Economic Research at Stellenbosch University, said the difference is not made by billions of rands, but rather by targeted investments of R1 million or R2 million that can transform small communities.
He noted that communal communities earned R283 million in wool income last year in areas where no wool income existed 25 years ago. This income exceeds the value of social grants in some communities, enabling children to attend school, improving nutrition and increasing the proportion of farmers with savings accounts.
According to Wandile Sihlobo, the facilitator of the session and the chief economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa, the communal wool clip has increased from just 0.5% of South Africa’s total wool clip in 1998 to approximately 16% today.
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Official partnership to empower smallholder woolgrowers
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