tural input from both commercial and emerging farmers.
Better Barley Better Beer was introduced by SA
in partnership with the World Wildlife Fund
South Africa (WWF-SA) as a holistic framework that focusses on environmental and social awareness by encouraging sustainable
farming practises that improve the socioeconomic value of a farm while protecting the
environmental integrity of the land (and monitor the economic performance of producers).
The project supports both commercial and
emerging barley farmers in the dryland Southern Cape and the irrigated barley fields in the
Northern Cape in gaining a deeper understanding of sustainable farming practises that
ultimately deliver a superior grain to SAB’s
Malting Houses, and consequently deliver a
great tasting beer.
The noble barley grain may grow less than a
centimetre high, but it really is the foundation
on which many of SAB’s great beers are made.
For this reason, SAB works closely with the
South African Barley Breeding Institute (SABBI)
in Caledon who are responsible for developing
new barley cultivars with superior yield potential, stability, and disease resistance while
providing improved malting and brewing
quality. It’s a laborious and delicate process
Eagle eye view of South African Barley
Breeding Institute’s multitude of different
barley varieties
where thousands of potential cultivars are put
though a rigorous testing process that last up
to 17 years for promising cultivars. A successful new malting barley variety will deliver incremental improvements in yield and extract
potential, which translates into significant
gains for both the farmer and the brewer.
Go Farming is another of SAB’s agricultural
projects that focuses on the complete barley
supply chain. This projects caters specifically
for emerging farmers and supports the development of a sustainable, reliable and competitive barley supply chain for the breweries.
Emerging farmers are assisted from the point
of inception with a detailed soil analysis and
any upgrades if necessary, fertilizer recommendations, and water requirement monitoring. Optimal planting times specific to the
land are calculated and SAB assists with a
comprehensive assessment of crop performance throughout the growth cycle. SAB’s
intention is to ensure that there is a meaningful increase in profitability for the farmer and
an improvement in the community’s social development.
As a part of its Vision 2030, government’ National Development Plan sees agriculture as
the vehicle to create nearly one million jobs by
2030. In order to achieve this goal, governHealthy fields of barley of the Overberg
Boerdery Trust’s emerging farmers, mentored by SABBF