C Dowry: International Triticale Symposium

3 September 2006

It is always a privilege for me to meet with new friends from all over the
world that could assist us in moving the boundaries of agriculture, especially
if they are willing to join hands with the Western Cape Government in our
effort to enhance the concept of Ikapa Elihlumayo, meaning the growing
Cape.

As MEC of Agriculture in the Western Cape, I want to extend a very warm word
of welcome to you all. I do this on behalf of the Government of the Western
Cape and specifically on behalf of the Department of Agriculture. Welcome in
Ikapa Elihlumayo where it is our vision to create a home for all our people and
where agriculture provides the food for the table in this home.

In looking at your agenda and the wide scope of very interesting and
relevant topics, I am convinced that we could all benefit from the
deliberations that will take place at this conference especially with the
emphasis on food security and the introduction of triticale in the development
of strategies for bio-fuels.

As always, I cannot pass up a good opportunity like this to introduce you to
this growing Cape, where agriculture is the main contributor to the economy and
our fight against poverty.

It is apparent that agriculture plays an important role in the economy and
it is clear that this sector has grown consistently since the political
transformation of 1994.

I am a firm believer in research and the development of technology to face
up to the challenges that we encounter in agriculture on a daily basis. The
Provincial Department of Agriculture is committed to crop research. This year
we have allocated R45 926 000 for technology, research and development from our
annual budget, which totals just over R254 million.

One of our major challenges is the change in weather patterns and the
cyclical drought spells that we encounter. This has compelled us to embark on
programs on sustainable crop rotation and alternative farming systems that
could contribute to the management of water scarcity on the long run.

Among the many research projects being conducted by the Plant Production
Institute of the Western Cape Department of Agriculture are two large-scale,
long-term crop rotation experiments. One is located in the Swartland at the
Langgewens Research Farm and the other at three locations in the Southern Cape.
Both these experiments are strongly supported by the private sector that
sponsors the annual working capital requirements.

These projects are an excellent example of "demand-driven research", the
research need having been identified in collaboration with the department,
agri-business and producers. Both emerging and established commercial farmers
are benefiting from the continuous flow of production and financial information
generated by the experiments.

The projects are designed to run for at least 20 years. Long-term trials of
this nature yield data of increasing value, the longer they continue and
provide real-time production data that indicate economic sustainability of
grain production systems in the province.

The need for the introduction of new / alternative crops in the farming
systems of the Western Cape were underlined by the severe drought situation
that we experienced from 2003 to 2005 as well as by the constant downward
pressures on the profitability of traditional crops, like wheat.

A research programme was launched to evaluate the potential of various new
crops for the Western Cape. A good example is canola, where since the starting
of trials ten years ago, it is now a fully-fledged crop that fulfils an
important role in sustainable crop rotation systems. We are currently
investigating honey-bush tea, flax, triticale and various vegetables under
irrigation.

A main focus of the programme is also to evaluate alternative farming
systems for marginal wheat production areas such as the "Rooi Karoo" north of
Piketberg. Examples are in place in the Southern Cape, where farmers have
switched from wheat production to low input crops like triticale to be
incorporated with their small stock enterprise. In the marginal areas, this
proved to be more sustainable than traditional wheat production; therefore the
investigation to implement such systems for the Swartland is justified.

I must admit though that for a long time triticale has been a somewhat
neglected crop in the Western Cape province. Due to established market players
and consumers' preferences this has been a market driven occurrence. With
profitability of cereal growers in the Western Cape coming under increased
pressure due to external market factors such as globalisation and increased
costs due to biotic and abiotic stresses being on the increase, this would
however need to be reassessed and current crop and market choices
revisited.

Together with this is also the need for national, provincial and local
government in South Africa to develop the rural economies and our effort to
address poverty. This can be made possible by enhancing the profitability of
current commercial farmers, creating opportunities for new emerging farmers and
by putting the people back into ailing rural communities.

One of the most exciting prospects from a provincial government point of
view at the moment is the exciting development in the field of renewable
energy. Currently a global drive is made for the utilisation of more green
sources and cereals are a very exciting prospect in the Western Cape province.
Currently a Western Cape Task Team has been establish and is exploring possible
crop options. Triticale is one of the most promising cereals for this in the
Western Cape.

The development of our rural economy and our effort to address poverty is
two main priorities for government. Therefore, the basic and applied research
on triticale promises to directly benefit these two priorities. In the long
term, the demand for ethanol-based fuel will likely continue to increase.
Research aiming to further knowledge regarding the ethanol output and ethanol
yield from the available triticale varieties in South Africa should be
encouraged and is opportune. The basic and applied research on triticale, as
done for instance by our own Stellenbosch University, promise to directly
benefit these two priorities.

Currently the Western Cape province produces just more than one million tons
of grain annually. Of these, triticale amounts only to 4,3% of the total
tonnage produced. With the envisaged bio-ethanol developments in our province
we expect a dramatic increase in the production of triticale. Producers will
benefit from the promising developments on bio-ethanol production from
triticale. Triticale varieties are suitable for use in the processing of
ethanol and offer high crop yield potential at a potentially lower production
cost when compared to wheat. The ethanol yield from a hectare of triticale
competes favourable with that of other winter grains on a production cost
basis.

As a grain for industrial energy use we believe triticale may offer the
following:

* higher ethanol yield per hectare and price competitiveness with other
grains
* higher starch content and conversion rates to ethanol
* a market for co-products.

However, a grain for industrial use also needs support in a form of a
regularised grain supply chain to ensure triticale production; also incentives
are needed for the ethanol to be competitive with petroleum in the market. The
Central Energy Fund and Industrial Development Corporation are currently
looking at projects which will aid in the commercialisation of biofuels and it
is envisaged that challenges identified in pilot projects which will be
initiated in the first quarter of next the year will aid the Cabinet to make
more informed decisions.

In parallel with this process on national level, the provincial Department
of Agriculture already investigated the feasibility of bio-ethanol production
in the Western Cape province based on winter grains as feedstock. It is found
that bio-ethanol plants might be financial viable with a return of 23% on total
capital invested. This return on total capital invested increase to 35 % mainly
due the increase (+27%) of the wholesale petroleum price at the coast from
R4,99 per litre to R6,36 per litre between Jan 2006 and August 2006.

As a department we would like to encourage the contribution research efforts
will make to increase the ethanol yield per hectare of our future ethanol
producers. This will directly make a contribution to our rural economy and to
reduce poverty among rural communities that are dependent from triticale
production. Triticale research will also open up new opportunities together
with the support of the Micro-Agricultural Finance Schemes of South Africa
(Mafisa) program and local Bio-fuels initiatives in the province to expand
current triticale production and to support new entrants to the production of
triticale as well as their dependants.

Many Communities may benefit directly from triticale research. For each
entrepreneur that enters triticale production a number of 15 dependants may
directly benefit by ventures like these. We need to support research on
triticale in order to make a positive contribution to the lives of
individuals.

It is common knowledge that the prosperity of the agricultural sector is
linked to the extent to which primary production is aligned to the needs of the
economy, both in terms of direct consumption of primary commodities and the
demand for agricultural raw materials at the manufacturing level. It is
important therefore that the vision for agriculture is seen in a broader view
of the larger economy rather than a narrow focus on primary agricultural
production.

The expansion of the industrial sector will lead to new job opportunities
for which the agricultural sector is supposed to release labour. Due to the
unique income elasticity of demand in developing countries, this in turn will
again lead to increased demand for agricultural products, and therefore the
start of a new cycle or, in other words, an upwards spiral of economic growth.
It is therefore clear that productivity in the agricultural sector can play an
important catalytic role. I want to believe that triticale can become a major
contributor to this process.

Programme Director, I understand that this congress was awarded to South
Africa as recognition of the outstanding work that the Stellenbosch University
Plant Breeding Laboratory is doing. We are extremely proud of this and trust
that you will not regret this decision. On behalf of the Government of the
Western Cape and especially the Department of Agriculture, I trust that you
will not only have a very fruitful congress, but that you will also have time
to experience our good weather and good wine while you are here.

Enquiries:
Alie van Jaarsveld
Spokesperson
Tel: (021) 483 4930
Fax: (021) 483 3890
E-mail: avjaarsv@pgwc.gov.za

Issued by: Department of Agriculture, Western Cape Provincial
Government
3 September 2006
Source: Western Cape Provincial Government (http://www.capegateway.gov.za)