The agricultural sector is an important contributor to employment, but a relatively marginal contributor to the aggregate GGP, estimated at 9,7% (GSDM, 2007a). According to farmers in the area, the main reason why the sector doesn’t contribute more to GGP is because of water scarcity. Other reasons could include the combined effects of land claims, which creates uncertainty and discourages further investment, as well as the low growth of global commodities.
Agriculture in the Sekhukhune District is a mixture of both commercial and subsistence farming. As indicated in the earlier spatial profile, subsistence farming tends to dominate land use in the District. Commercial agriculture in Sekhukhune tends to be concentrated in twoareas:
√ The south-western part of the District (near Groblersdal and Marble Hall).
√ The eastern section of the District (near Burgersfort and Ohrigstad).

(a) Commercial agriculture
Over the past 5 to 10 years, farmers in the area have faced mounted difficulties with falling commodity prices and rising input costs. Despite this, agriculture’s contribution to GGP continues to be roughly 10% and, in 2001, provided 16% of the formal employment within the District (Womiwu Rural Development, 2006a).
There are two major areas of commercial cultivation:
√ The Loskop scheme
√ The Ohrigstad scheme

(a1) The Loskop scheme
The towns of Groblersdal and Marble Hall are found in the Loskop Valley. The commercial agricultural schemes in this valley are serviced by the Loskop Dam, built in 1938 especially for this purpose. In addition to the Loskop scheme, there are 5 smaller schemes within the Loskop agricultural area:
→ Moosrivier scheme
→ Olifants River scheme
→ Elands River scheme
→ Selons River scheme
Collectively, these contribute significantly to commercial agriculture in the area.
The past 10 years have placed Loskop farmers under increasing pressure as rising input costs, a stronger local currency, lower commodity prices and external competition have all taken their toll. One of the responses on the part of local farmers has been to diversify the crops they produce. The collapse of the once lucrative tobacco industry has also pressured farmers in the area to look at different options. As a result, there has been a growing emphasis placed on establishing permanent crops, such as citrus and table grapes, in the area.

Main crops in Loskop
Tobacco, Wheat, Cotton, Soya beans, Citrus, Paprika, Pumpkin, Peas, Commercial vegetables, Seed maize, Commercial maize, Table grapes, Dry beans, Watermelons and cantaloupes

(a2) The Ohrigstad scheme
The Ohrigstad valley is supplied with irrigation water from the Ohrigstad Dam along the Ohrigstad River. The total area currently being irrigated is estimated at roughly 4,500 hectares. At present, information on the Ohrigstad scheme is fairly limited, although indications are that the area is facing similar challenges to those faced by Loskop farmers (Womiwu Rural Development, 2006a).

Main crops in Ohrigstad
Tobacco, Paprika, Wheat, Maize, Seed maize, Citrus, Sugar, Lucerne, Vegetable cash crops and Olives Game farming.

The District currently has a competitive advantage in a number of crops, including table grapes, citrus and vegetables for processing (Womiwu Rural Development, 2006b). This can be maintained if the District promotes processing and other value-adding activities for these products.

(b) Emerging and small-scale agriculture
Almost 70% of Sekhukhune farmers are subsistence farmers. This group of farmers engages extensively in both livestock and crop farming.
In the mid-1990s, three Farmer Support Programmes were providing assistance to about 16,000 small-scale maize farmers in Phokoane, Ndebele and Sterkspruit. These programmes have been discontinued (Womiwu Rural Development, 2006a) and subsistence agricultural production in Sekhukhune has generally dropped significantly (DoA, 2006).
The two areas with the highest potential for small-scale farmers are the higher rainfall dryland areas, as well as the Olifants River Irrigation Scheme. The latter consist of 42 government-assisted schemes allocated to approximately 3,000 farmers, and has been identified as part of the Limpopo DoA’s Revitalisation of smallholder schemes. The table below captures the schemes that will be revitalised under this initiative in the first 2 years:

The future of agriculture in Sekhukhune is, however, impeded by a number of factors. These include water scarcity, distorted land ownership patterns, a growing number of land claims, limited support services and inadequate infrastructure and services. The huge disparities between the commercial and subsistence farming worlds may also eventually cause some social tension. The other area of potential tension lies in conflicting social and economic demands for water, an increasingly scarce resource in the District. It is a tension that will need to be mediated through future IDP processes.
Despite these potential difficulties, opportunities abound for agriculture in Sekhukhune, and the sector is likely to play a dominant role in the District’s forthcoming 2025 Strategy. It is also a critical element of provincial economic strategy.

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