This week, community members of the AmaZizi and AmaNgwane in the Upper Thukela region of KwaZulu-Natal held their first and successful communal livestock auction hosted by WILDLANDS in partnership with Meat Naturally Pty (MNP) – a social enterprise working to engage and develop the communal livestock sector to encourage sustainable farming practices.
Meat Naturally Pty is a Conservation South Africa initiative that aims to provide development and market solutions which ultimately provide communal stock farmers with improved returns as a reward for the implementation of improved grazing and land management efforts. According to Conservation South Africa, livestock farming for meat production is said to be the largest agricultural sector in South Africa, generating over R6.7 billion per annum, with commercial farmers supplying 95% of the red meat market in the country. Farmers on communal lands own 47% of the country’s livestock, but only 5% of the formal market comes from these smaller farming operations.
Over 100 community members gathered for the much anticipated auction and it was truly a rewarding day as over R600 000 was generated through this auction. More than 70% of the cattle were auctioned successfully, with the highest selling for R11 500. This was an astounding result as these funds will be going directly to the farmers, in turn having a direct impact on the livelihoods of the Mweni community.
WILDLANDS Executive Director, Dr Roelie Kloppers comments, “The project incentivizes communities to change traditional cattle farming systems to improve biodiversity in productive landscapes. Through a partnership with Meat Naturally, we can provide communities in the Mweni area of the Ukhahlamba-Drakensberg area with mobile cattle auctions that save them from incurring transport costs and high fees associated with traditional auctions. In exchange, local livestock associations have agreed to implement a rotational grazing system, allowing for grassland restoration and improved ecosystem health.”
Since this was a first time experience for this community, many are hoping to gain much more in future. “I only brought one of my bulls here today as I needed to gauge the type of price I would get. We would like to see a higher rand value per kilogram but I am satisfied with what I got today,” commented Mr Hlongwane.
Environmental Monitor, Daniel Hlongwane, commended the efforts of bringing the auction to the community as he felt that it opened the field to the local women farmers of the community who previously could not attend and instead sent their male relatives or children. The role of the Environmental Monitors has been pivotal in forging this project as they provide environmental guidance to the farmers by advising them on vital animal husbandry practices, veterinary and basic care.
“For the first time, I feel the auction went well and definitely had a positive impact on local farmers. They were very happy with the commission of 4% which they must pay compared to some of the auctions they are used to, which is around 8% or above and it is charged per cow. Although some of the local farmers did not sell as they felt that the prices were lower than what they were hoping for, but I’m certain that with improved land practices, the implementation of rotational grazing and community participation, the farmers will get more satisfactory prices for their cattle,” concluded Senzo Dunywa, WILDLANDS Lead Biodiversity Stewardship Facilitator.
WILDLANDS ultimately want to realise the vision of a ‘Sustainable future for all” through such projects. Through enabling communities to conserve and protect their natural heritage by teaching them sustainable land use practices, we are certain that not only will these communities generate sustainable livelihoods but they will become resilient and robust. It is thanks to long term partners and funding support from the Global Nature Fund that such projects will improve the lives of the marginalised communities in remote areas like Mweni.
Global Nature Fund Board member, Dr Andrew Venter, was really excited about the progress being made with this ground-breaking project. “Rural sustainability is key to the future conservation of Africa’s biodiversity and landscapes. This project demonstrates that it is possible to combine cattle farming, grassland conservation and livelihood development. A unique combination that has the potential to unlock rural landscape conservation efforts across Africa.”
WILDTRUST (registered as the Wildlands Conservation Trust - IT No: 4329/1991/PMB)