Food security from your own garden

GEORGE NEWS - With the number of farmers in South Africa declining and food security increasingly becoming an issue, Georgians who are part of the Kos en Fynbos initiative and are growing their own food are setting an example for all to follow.

One such person is Francois Titus, from New Dawn Park, Pacaltsdorp, who harvests a large variety of vegetables from his backyard.

He also grows fruit trees (bananas, guavas and figs) and peppadews, chilies and a wide selection of medicinal herbs such as African wormwood, kankerbossie and groen amara.

Titus learnt the tricks of the trade from his grandfather. His way of putting healthy food on the table for his family is an illustration of the food production system that Kos en Fynbos is promoting.

Their aim is to create a self-sustaining and resilient community in an environment where fewer farmers grow food for a fast growing population - over 51 million citizens in 2011 (Stats SA), which is expected to reach 82 million by 2035.

A World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) research document titled 'Agriculture: Facts and trends, South Africa', warns that farming profitability and water scarcity have left the country with less than two-thirds of the number of farms it had in the early 1990s.

Over the last 20 years, there is an increasing trend in intensified production, which means an increase in irrigation, fuel, fertiliser, mechanisation and genetically modified seed inputs.

According to the report, dependence on and overuse of synthetic fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides reduces long-term soil fertility, pollutes water supplies and poisons fragile ecosystems, among others.

Input costs required for intensive farming are increasing and are also subject to changes in the oil price, the price of raw materials and exchange rate fluctuations. This leaves the farmer with little control over their affairs, states the report.

It further says that to feed South Africa's population by the year 2035, food production or imports must more than double, and production needs to increase using the same, or fewer, natural resources.

Anyone feeling somewhat uneasy about such information, is welcome to attend the Kos en Fynbos monthly meetings at the George Civic Centre (lecture room) to learn more about growing some of your own supplies.

For more information, e-mail Chris Godfrey at chrisgodfrey3@gmail.com.

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