By Dr Vaughan Hattingh
The citrus industry in southern Africa is experiencing immense growth over the long term. Citrus exports generate R30 billion in foreign revenue every year. The citrus industry is hoping to increase this even further, mapping out the potential for growth to 260 million 15k cartons of citrus by 2032, creating a further 100 000 jobs in the process. Southern African citrus is enjoyed all across the globe, with significant export markets in the EU, UK, Russia, China, the US and the Middle East.
Achieving export growth goals requires a co-ordinated effort that stretches from technical production on citrus farms, through sophisticated and specialised citrus post-harvest treatments and packing facilities, with intricately interlinked logistics, moving huge quantities of fruit in tightly controlled cold chains through the ports, via sophisticated shipping streams to more than 100 destination countries across the world.
This all simultaneously requires careful compliance with a multitude of technologically advanced plant health and food safety requirements from the multiple destination markets. Gaining, retaining and optimising market access requires economic diplomacy of government, access to world-class cutting-edge scientific data and technical expertise, and successful growers.
The foundation of this success – and indeed to the industry’s future success – is decades of focussed scientific research. The industry took a momentous strategic decision in the mid-1950s to develop its own industry-focussed research. In 1973, the industry moved to building its own citrus-dedicated research centre in Nelspruit, named the Outspan Citrus Centre.
Likewise, in the 1970s, South Africa established the foundation for a Citrus Improvement Scheme aimed at ensuring the industry was built on the supply of disease-free, high-quality citrus trees. The scheme established a national foundation block for the centralised production of citrus seed and budwood, at a facility named the Outspan Foundation Block outside Uitenhage.
After deregulation of the industry in the mid-1990s, the Outspan Citrus Centre and Outspan Foundation Block were renamed the Citrus Research Centre and Citrus Foundation Block. The operation of the facilities, together with the responsibility of ensuring continuation of the research and technical support services to the southern African citrus industry, was entrusted to Citrus Research International (CRI).
From the foundations, the industry’s sustained support of independent, industry-funded research has seen a growth in scale and sophistication, to the point that South Africa boasts an internationally recognised world-class citrus research and technical support capacity that directly benefits the industry, the country and the broader southern African region. The citrus research and technical support resource is a national asset.
The Citrus Foundation Block holds and multiplies propagation material of the 364 citrus cultivars available to southern African growers. The operation of such a biosecure resource requires a high level of specialised technical expertise, careful management and long-term visionary planning. The resource has been the foundation for the 100 000 hectares of disease-free and horticulturally superior commercial citrus plantings in southern Africa.
The CRI has grown the citrus research portfolio over the years, such that it funds and co-ordinates 131 active research projects. The CRI operates a wide-ranging research partnership model that encompasses 22 local and international research collaborations. With the strong university component of the research partnership, the research also supports the sustained training of the citrus focussed agricultural scientists of the future.
One of the overarching priority focus areas sustained by the CRI is the generation of the scientific research outputs that the country relies on to address the plant health, food safety and environmental management demands from international markets.
In addition to co-ordinating, funding and directing citrus research and the Citrus Improvement Scheme, the CRI operates a Biosecurity division. Biosecurity aims to protect the industry from the introduction and establishment of potentially devastating new pests and diseases.
The realisation of the value inherent in research is dependent on effective uptake and, accordingly, the CRI operates its own Extension division. Extension co-ordinates the provision of technical support to citrus growers through 27 regional technology transfer groupings. As the industry’s flagship technology transfer event, the CRI is organising the 12th Citrus Research Symposium from August 19 to 21 this year.
Held every two years, the symposium has grown into an international event and has become one of the largest agricultural research conferences in South Africa, with the CRI having to cap 2024 registrations at 850 delegates. It will be attended by a wide spectrum of industry role players, including citrus growers, citrus packhouse operators, exporters, citrus nurseries and industry supportive industries including packaging, logistics and agrichemicals.
For the citrus industry to remain competitive in international markets, cutting-edge scientific research is imperative and effective implementation of technologies on farm level is an essential industry sustainability requirement. This is where the CRI’s extension service brings skills to stakeholders ranging from emerging farmers to large citrus estates. Technology transfer is critically important to support successful industry transformation. There are more than 120 successful black citrus growers, established on the safe foundation of knowledge and expertise that has its origin in the research and support services of the CRI.
Recent devastation caused by plant diseases in some other citrus-producing countries is a stark reminder about why biosecurity is so important for an agricultural industry. New pest and disease incursions have brought citrus industries in other parts of the world to their knees. The CRI’s biosecurity division, including the Citrus Improvement Scheme and world-class research, are essential in the fight to ensure sustained profitability of the southern African citrus industry and the 140 000 rural livelihoods that depend on the industry.
Although pests and diseases such as False Codling Moth and Citrus Black Spot are in the news, a wide range of phytosanitary regulations imposed by importing countries are central considerations in gaining, retaining and optimising access to export markets. The CRI plays a key role in enabling southern African countries to meet the market access requirements and the R30 billion per annum export earnings are dependent on sustaining the market access.
The CRI’s focus on enabling market access finds it working closely with the Citrus Growers’ Association of Southern Africa. It requires a great deal of long-term planning and insight to direct research projects on subjects that will generate the scientific data that is central to sustaining market access. The ensuing public-private partnership between research, industry and the government are critical to maintaining the industry’s status as the second biggest exporter of citrus in the world.
Often, research takes a back seat to more headline-grabbing industry concerns – think of issues such as municipal service delivery, port efficiency, trade issues or weather events – but scientific data, knowledge and technical services forms the basis of the industry, from which the rest grows.
Dr Vaughan Hattingh is the CEO of the Citrus Research Institute.