Technology and human resources for a sustainable future

Tony DaCosta
Manjoh Ranch, Nigel
Guateng, South Africa
Technology and human resources
for a sustainable future
“I’ve w a nte d to b e a fa rm er sinc e I c ou ld w a lk ,” say s
D aC osta. “It ’s been m y lifelong aspiration and I hope I can
c a rry on doin g it u ntil I c a n’t w a lk .” Tony is the th ird
generation of D aC o sta s to live on the la nd a nd he hop e s
that som ed ay h is son w ill bec om e the fou rth generation
to fa rm th is la nd .
D aC o sta’s m ixe d fa rm , k now n a s M a njoh R a nc h ,
is lo c ate d in the m in in g c om m u n it y of N igel, G auten g .
G auten g is the sm a lle st but m o st p opu lou s prov inc e
in S outh A fric a a nd re c ent e stim ate s set the p opu lation
at 9.5 m illion p e ople .
A s a fa rm er, D aC o sta b elie ve s he h a s a n im p orta nt role
to play in the w ell-b ein g of h is c om m u n it y by c reatin g
em ploy m ent opportu n ities for local residents. “A t M anjoh
R a nc h w e b elie ve w e h ave a so c ia l obligation to the
p e ople a rou nd u s,” he say s. “By c reatin g jo b s w e a re
puttin g m ore m one y into the c om m u n it y a nd c reatin g
inc om e for the p e ople to bu y the pro duc ts w e pro duc e .”
H is fa rm is p a rt of the fo o d ba sk et for th is la rgely
u rban ised reg ion that includes the econom ic epicentre of
Johan nesbu rg. D aC osta produces soy bean s, su gar bean s,
m a iz e a nd p otato e s a nd fe e d s u p to 22 ,0 0 0 b e ef c attle
e very yea r. T he fa rm a lso op erate s a m a iz e pro c e ssin g
m ill th at ad d s fu rther v a lue to D aC o sta’s c rop a nd
c reate s em ploy m ent op p ortu n itie s for lo c a l re sid ents.
D u rin g h is yea rs of fa rm in g , D aC o sta h a s e x p erienc e d
plent y of c h a n ge , inc lud in g ne w in nov ation s a nd
c h a n g in g attitud e s tow a rd the env iron m ent . “R e sea rc h
a nd d e velopm ent h a s d efin itely m ad e a d ifferenc e on
ou r fa rm ,” he say s. “Ten yea rs ago , ou r average y ield on
m a iz e w ou ld h ave b e en 4.5 to 5 ton ne s but du rin g the
p a st th re e to fou r yea rs w e’ve average d c lo ser to 6 to
7 ton ne s a nd la st sea son w e ac h ie ve d 9 ton ne s.”
D aC o sta attribute s m uc h of tho se y ield ga in s to
in nov ation s c reate d by the pla nt sc ienc e indu stry. W ith
e ver-inc rea sin g input c o sts, pro duc tiv it y im provem ents
a re im p erative to the fa rm ’s v iabilit y. “T he ad v a nta ge
w e get from u sin g c rop prote c tion pro duc ts is th at w e
h ave h ig her y ield s,” say s D aC o sta . “W ith h ig her y ield s,
w e are m ore com petitive becau se w e are better equ ipped
to c over ou r c o sts of pro duc tion .”
“Ten years ago, our average yield on maize
would have been 4.5 to 5 tonnes but during
the past three to four years we’ve averaged
closer to 6 to 7 tonnes and last season we
achieved 9 tonnes.”
Biote c h nolog y is a go o d fit w ith D aC o sta’s intere st in
su sta in able fa rm in g prac tic e s, a im in g to prote c t the
env iron m ent a nd e sp e c ia lly the w ater su p ply. “W ater is
one , if not the m o st im p orta nt , input w e ne e d . W ithout
it w e c a n’t fa rm ,” he e x pla in s. D aC o sta ad op ts stric t
pro c e du re s a rou nd c rop prote c tion u se to re duc e the
im p ac t on w ater su p plie s a nd the fa rm h a s a w ater
m a n a gem ent prog ra m m e , w h ic h inc lu d e s c ontou rin g
the la nd to en su re the ra in s a re ab sorb e d into the soil.
“T he m ore w ater w e c a n k e e p in the la nd the m ore
m oistu re there is available for the plant to g row,” he say s.
“R ou ndu p R ead y soy b ea n s h ave d efin itely g iven u s
a n ad v a ntage ,” say s D aC o sta . “W e c a n k e e p ou r c rop s
c lea ner a nd w ithout c om p etition from w e e d s, the c rop
h a s a b etter c h a nc e at pro duc in g a h ig her y ield .”
“By creating jobs we are putting more money
into the community and creating income for
the people to buy the products we produce.”
O ne d ay Tony D aC o sta hop e s to se e h is son ru n n in g
M a njoh R a nc h . W ith th at in m ind , he’s ta k en a nu m b er
of im p orta nt ste p s to bu ild a su sta in able fa rm in g
op eration th at w ill prov id e for futu re D aC o sta
generation s. H e’s bu ilt v a lue -ad d e d pro c e ssin g th at
c reate s a ltern ate profit p otentia l for the fa rm ; a nd he’s
inve ste d in p e ople a nd the c om m u n it y so th at there
is a n in fra struc tu re to help the fa rm g row a nd pro sp er
in the futu re .
01/10-8499
In ad d ition to c rop prote c tion pro duc ts, D aC o sta
is a firm b elie ver in pla ntin g c rop s c reate d th rou g h
biote c h nolog y. “In itia lly w e w ere sc e p tic a l ab out u sin g
the se c rop s but now a lm o st 95 % of ou r c rop s a re
genetic a lly m o d ifie d ,” he say s. H erbic id e -tolera nt
soy b ea n s a nd in se c t-re sista nt m a iz e a re t w o e x a m ple s
of the sh ift th at D aC o sta h a s m ad e a s a re su lt of
biote c h nolog y.