Farming in South Africa

Farming is growing crops and keeping animals for food and other products. Without farmers we would have no food in the shops.

• A crop is a plant a farmer grows, such as maize, wheat or potatoes.
• Livestock farming is farming with animals such as cattle and sheep. Cows give milk, chickens give eggs and meat.

Crops grow well only when they have enough water and fertile soil. Fertile soil holds the nutrients plants need.

• Irrigation: the farmer brings water to the fields with pipes or sprinklers.
• The farmer ploughs before planting to loosen the soil and let air in.
• A tractor does heavy work faster.
• Grain is stored dry in tall silos until it is sold.

Meerkat tip

In a drought crops can fail, and too much rain can make the roots rot.

Soil erosion is when the fertile topsoil is washed away by water or blown away by wind. Bare soil erodes most easily.

• Keep plants growing on the soil: their roots hold it in place.
• Crop rotation: plant a different crop in the same field each year.
• Keep livestock in camps and move them, so the grazing can recover.

Fruit farming: there are three kinds of fruit. Deciduous fruit (apples, pears and grapes; the trees lose their leaves in winter) grows in the Western Cape, where the winters are cold and wet. Citrus fruit (oranges, lemons and naartjies) grows mainly in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape. Subtropical fruit (avocados, mangoes, bananas and litchis) needs a warm climate with no frost: it grows in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and on the KwaZulu-Natal coast. Much of the fruit is exported to other countries.

Livestock farming: large stock (cattle), small stock (sheep and goats) and poultry (chickens). A good farmer cares for the animals: fresh water, enough food, shelter, a vet when they are ill, and gentle handling.