South African Avocado
Growers’ Association Yearbook 1987. 10:5-8
Proceedings of the First
World Avocado Congress
Opening Address
DR CF GARBERS
President, CSIR, PO Box 395, Pretoria 0001, RSA
Dr
CF Garbers
INTRODUCTION
Mr Chairman, distinguished delegates and
accompanying persons, it is indeed a great privilege, honour and pleasure to
make some opening remarks at this, the first World Avocado Congress. As President of the CSIR, I also wish to
extend a special word of welcome to you here at the CSIR, in Pretoria and in
South Africa. I hope that you will find your stay enlightening and
fruitful. I studied your programme and
noticed that every conceivable aspect of the research, production and marketing
of avocados worldwide will be covered, with the objective of gathering
specialists to pool their knowledge.
Hence, in my opening address, I shall not even attempt to venture into
the fields amply covered by the many experts present. My direct contact with the avocado industry stems from my
association with the Hans Merensky Foundation and its successful ventures in
avocado farming at Westfalia and with new vistas emerging at Everdon Estate,
Natal.
South Africa presents a challenge to the
keenest minds - in the sphere of politics, farming, industry and many others.
By way of introduction I wish to briefly
analyse how these challenges and opportunities provided the stimulus for the
development of the required scientific and technological knowledge.
During the preparations to arrange your
visit to the southern tip of the African continent to attend this conference
you may have seen one of those picturesque posters with the subtitle 'South
Africa - a world in one country'. I would like to elaborate on this statement.
A detailed study of South Africa's geological history
by our geologists has provided us with a dramatic account of the past 200
million years. During this formative
period of the earth's history, Africa became separated, from its neighbours,
which together formed the once great Gondwanaland. Africa's separation from
South America, Antarctica, India and Madagascar was accompanied by violent
upheavals, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, mountain building and
subsidences. The land masses drifted
and indeed today are still drifting apart slowly, moved by the forces released
as a result of volcanic activity along the mid-Atlantic and other sub-oceanic
ridges. The modern Southern African
landmass reflects its volcanic history with the spectacular diamondiferous magma
pipes, the basalts and the massive volume of magma in the Karoo
intrusions. Following the cooling and
before the separation of the land masses, many types of flora and fauna evolved
and flourished. The southern hemisphere
Gondwana flora, well represented in the South African fossil beds, were unusual
in that the main tree species were deciduous. Over the years, the annual leaf
fall of the Glossopteris gave rise to our massive coal deposits, putting us in
the enviable position as a major exporter of coal to the rest of the world and
of being able to generate 75 per cent of our energy requirements from coal.
Not all the trees were changed to coal and
excellent examples of petrified trunks bear witness of times long past. Deductions are made about the plant and
animal life, based on the study of fossilised remains of how extinct taxa
reveal a saga of successes and failures with the emergence and decline of many
varied forms of life.
The South Africa of today has a high inland
plateau and a narrow coastal strip, with the warm Mozambique current flowing
southwards along the east coast and the cold Benguela current from the
Antarctic flowing northwards up the west coast. The latter has a rich and
varied marine life.
South Africa is indeed a world in one
country! In comparison to most other
geographically small countries, which have a largely homogenous ecology, South
Africa has widely differing regions each with their own climatic conditions,
and although in 1977 more than half of South Africa was classified by the
United Nations as potential desert area, widely different regions may be
identified:
·
the oldest and
driest desert in the world;
·
the vast low
rainfall area, known as the Karoo, which is spreading rapidly as a result of
over-exploitation;
·
the winter
rainfall region in the Western Cape with its high mountain flora and unique
'fynbos' or natural scrub vegetation;
·
the grasslands
which cover vast areas of the high plateau in the interior;
·
the frost-free
areas with subtropical forests and a climate suitable for growing subtropical
fruit;
·
the Bushveld
region in which the famous Kruger National Park is situated;
·
rugged
mountainous terrain;
·
evergreen
forests.
The list is by no means complete, but all
these ecosystems require expanded research efforts.
Scientific research was stimulated about 150
years ago by the problems encountered in organised agricultural activities.
Previously uncultivated land was farmed and domestic animals were introduced
into new environments and therefore sometimes exposed to toxic plants. Progress
in farming methods was rapid, and with the discovery of diamonds in 1866 and
gold in 1886, the stage was set for the emergence of South Africa as an
important industrial nation, with a successful farming community, which in the
recent spell of dry seasons experienced extensive hardships. What has been
achieved was largely based on knowledge generated in Europe and North America,
which enterprising individuals adapted and applied to the South African
situation; above all, there was great scientific endeavour in those areas in
which South Africa, owing to local requirements, had to pioneer new
developments. This is still the basic pattern.
So 200 million years ago our close
neighbours started to move away. Today we again experience a situation, where
due to political events the South African scientific community is becoming
increasingly estranged from their colleagues overseas. This is indeed alarming.
Allow me to point out that Africa south of the Sahara is confronted by major
issues, which can only be solved if science and technology fulfil their proper
roles. Here one should make mention of the need to improve the standard of
living, to reduce the birth rate, to accelerate development towards a brighter
future and greater prosperity, to cope with enormous ecological problems such
as deforestation, desert encroachment, and overgrazing; to realise Africa's
enormous energy potential, to train the people of Africa for a more
industrialised society, etc.
Allow
me in this regard to make brief reference to the status of research and
development (R&D) in Africa, particularly in view of the enormous
challenges confronting this continent, frequently of an Africa-specific nature.
First of all I should point out that South Africa's contribution to the world's
R&D effort amounts to 0,32 per cent. However, according to the UNESCO
Statistical Yearbook, the total R&D contribution from Africa amounts to
0,56 per cent. Hence, South Africa's contribution to Africa's R&D effort is
roughly 60 per cent.
The
long-term prospects for training scientists and engineers in sufficient numbers
to cope with the demands of Africa, is discouraging. Over the years a great
indebtedness arose to particularly Europe and the United States
·
for the
opportunities given to South African scientists to study abroad and gain
information for application and innovative steps here in the RSA on their
return, and
·
for the
guidance that we have received from world authorities who have visited us from
time to time, some of whom are present here today.
Be that as it may, South Africa has a commitment
to the future of Southern Africa, and for years to come the African continent
will require assistance from the technical competence of the West.
This brings me to this international
congress!
THE RUN-IN TO THIS CONGRESS
Historical investigations showed that the
avocado was enjoyed by the Aztecs. Western countries were introduced to the
avocado in 1519 when Cortez, as a soldier in Mexico, became familiarised with
this exceptional fruit. In 1526 the historian Oviedo described the avocado as
follows: "In the centre of the fruit is a seed like a peeled chestnut. And
between this and the rind is the part which is eaten, which is abundant, and is
a paste similar to butter and of very good taste".
At the turn of this century California
played a pivotal role in the development of the avocado industry and also
provided a major stimulus to the industry in many countries, such as Israel,
Australia, Spain, South Africa, and others. The required scientific and
technological knowledge was established and in 1976 an International Avocado
Congress was staged in Miami. At this congress the research leaders in this
specific area of endeavour presented papers in their field of expertise, which
provided a major stimulus to the upcoming generation. I can testify to the challenge
extended by this conference to the relevant South African community to bring
our own research and production effort on par with, for example, California and
Israel.
Since this first congress, South African
researchers made major strides in eliminating our backlog and attaining
prominence in the avocado world of today: Major credit should go to the South
African Avocado Growers' Association for fostering a co-ordinated research
effort under the leadership of Professor JM Kotze of the University of Pretoria.
Through this effort, universities, the Department of Agriculture and private
enterprise all collaborated to solve the most urgent problems.
I therefore have no doubt as to the
necessity for this World Avocado Congress after eleven years. We are justifiably
proud that this important congress is hosted in South Africa. My Council's
Conference Secretariat is deeply involved in the arrangements for many
international conferences. It is our experience that a high level of national
involvement in the area addressed by a particular conference is a prerequisite
for its success. This criterion, I believe, is amply met with regard to this
World Avocado Congress.
THE SOUTH AFRICAN AVOCADO INDUSTRY
For many years the South African fruit
industry has been in the privileged position of being practically the sole
supplier of fresh fruit to Europe in the off-season. Due to low production
costs the South African fruit grower could supply fruit to these markets at
very competitive prices, despite the long distances fruit had to be shipped.
During recent years, it has become
increasingly apparent that profit margins are being eroded by increasing
production costs, inflation, and increased competition from countries in the
southern hemisphere. This provided a stimulus to the adoption of more efficient
farming practices and the growing of cultivars capable of producing high yields
of superior quality fruit (WP Burger, SA Avocado Growers' Association Yearbook,
Vol 8, 17, 1985).
Avocados are produced successfully in a few localities
in South Africa, viz Letaba/Tzaneen (51 per cent, 11 056 tonnes), Louis
Trichardt (21 per cent; 4721 tonnes), Hazyview/Nelspruit (23 per cent; 5 127
tonnes), Natal (4 per cent; 762 tonnes) and other localities (1 per cent; 64
tonnes) (Figure 1).
Be that as it may, and despite seasonal
fluctuations it is a growing industry with production levels for export (Figure
2) rising from 6112 tonnes in 1976 to an estimated 21 728 tonnes in 1987.
The avocado industry is small in comparison
with other branches of agriculture. As an indication one could refer to the
export figures in cubic metres. In this regard the figures for 1986 were 801
985 cubic metres for citrus, 801 445 cubic metres for deciduous fruit, 3 984
cubic metres for pineapples and 34 820 cubic metres for avocados (Figure 3).
Although still small in comparison with other branches of agriculture, the
avocado industry has every reason to be proud of what it has already achieved.
Fig 1 Avocado
production areas 1986.
