André and Madaléne Spangenberg

Groenheuwel

Hi, we are André and Madaléne Spangenberg and we cultivate organic citrus fruits for Nature & More at Augrabies 120 km from Upington in South Africa. Our farm Groenheuwel Boerdery is located in the fertile valley of Orange River, one of the largest rivers of South Africa. Love the time of the year when the citrus trees been blooming – everything smells clean and fresh.

We have decided to start farming all citrus organic in 2001. Organic is more healthy for both the people who are working with it and for the end consumer. For us as a grower on the farm, it is more challenging as we make our own compost, and do our own exports. We expanded the property which now covers approximately 6,000 hectares. 445 hectares are dedicated to fruit growing of which 160 of these are cultivated organically since 2001.

Our solar project on the farm became real in 2020. We have installed 2775 panels. Total capacity: 1.124.55KWp, generating 2 393 MW/h per year. Total ESKOM consumption was reduced to 70% of the total yearly electricity costs!

Interview

N&M: What motivated you to start with the production of organic citrus?
André: One of the reasons we started the organic citrus production was diversification at our farm, and increasing year-round employment for our workers. We have been producing conventional grapes for a long time, but the drawback is that grapes have a very short season from December to January. By starting organic citrus production we are lengthening our production season, we could create permanent employment for a lot of our previously temporary workers. We are now in the position to offer them work for a nine months period, which means a benefit for them and their families in this rural area.

Madaléne: Andre's brother was already into organics when we started with citrus in 2000. After recognizing the advantages of organic production, we also decided to produce the citrus organically. We visited André’s brother regularly and realized the potential of our farm for organic production. Our remote location, far away from other farms and industry, means that there is no risk of outside contamination.

N&M: Organic farming does require a different mind set from conventional farming. What was your experience during your transition to organic production?
Madeline: With our conventional grape production, we have already reduced the use of fertilizers. We use a lot of organic matter such as muld instead and we believe that this makes a difference. Organic agriculture fits in well with our lifestyle.

N&M: Community development for the employees seems to be important for Groenheuwel Boerdery. What have you organized for the community?
André: Before the working day begins the people have the opportunity to attend an Ecumenical Morning Prayer. A priest is invited every day to pray and sing with them. One of the workers is currently being trained to become the priest of the community.

Madaléne: One of our employees was working temporarily on another farm, 500 km from here. He told the farm management enthusiastically about the Morning Prayer ritual at Groenheuwel and how important it is for him and our people. When the farm manager contacted us we shared our experiences with him and he has now also introduced the Morning Prayer at his farm.

André: Furthermore, we organize many technical education programmes such as tractor driving, preparing compost and learning about irrigation systems for on the fields. We provide houses for our workers to ensure that they feel at home here, and have a lot of different adult education programmes, formal, as well as informal.

Tabs

soil

Compost is primarily applied for fertility, but in a dry climate it becomes very obvious that compost enhances the water holding capacity of the soil. It helps to avoid the extremes between too much water (during heavy rains or flood irrigation) and too little (during drought). It is also important for keeping the microorganisms below the ground active and healthy, since they do not like the extremes either. If it is too wet they may die, if too dry they hibernate. In this sense, compost plays an important role and has a balancing effect.

To ensure a continuous supply of compost, Andre gathers all kinds of organic waste throughout the year and stores it on his compost site, which is the size of a football field. Sometimes the ingredients come from as far as 300 km away. A desert just does not produce much excess plant material, which means resources are scarce. But because Andre sees the effect of compost on his soils, he makes every effort to fill his site with wood chips, straw, manure, and other such items.

When the time is right, he mixes all these materials together with some water and turns them into long rows about 2 meters wide and 1,5 meters high. This composting process needs to be closely monitored to maintain the right temperature in the rows. If the temperature gets too high it may kill the microorganisms which have been activated in the mixture of materials. This means that the rows will have to be quickly turned again to allow the temperature to drop. For this purpose Andre uses a compost turner, a special machine which allows him to work quickly and efficiently. Compost is too important to Andre to just leave it to chance.

biodiversity

There are significant differences between growing organic and non-organic citrus trees and consequently the transition can be tough! For Andre and Madeline, it was a little easier due to the fact that a family member was already working according to organic principles. Madeline: “Andre's brother was already into organics when we started with citrus in 2000. After recognizing the advantages of organic production, we also decided to produce the citrus organically. We visited André’s brother regularly and realized the potential of our farm for organic production. Our remote location, far away from other farms and industry, means that there is no risk of outside contamination”.

One of the most positive side effects of organic agriculture is that it encourages and stimulates biodiversity. Many Nature and More growers are proud of the diverse range of birds, mammals and plants that can be found on their land and see it as a clear sign as to how “healthy” their orchards are.

Many practices used by Groenheuwel (and other organic farmers around the world) to increase productivity have the natural knock-on effect of increasing plant and animal life and maintaining natural biodiversity. For example in the case of organic citrus production:
• Using compost or livestock manures increases the concentration of micro-organisms, earthworms, spiders and beetles in the soil
• Prioritising indigenous breeds of plants and animals maintains the natural diversity of different areas
• Introducing natural enemies of weeds and pests, rather than using chemical synthetic pesticides, helps to increase animal life

individual

Rich in Vitamin C, grapefruits contain a powerful antioxidant called lycopene, which also contributes to the pinkish color in the fruit. Lycopene is a carotenoid phytonutrient and has the highest capacity at fighting free radical damage to cells- a very important antioxidant to have in your diet. Eating grapefruit has also been shown to help decrease weight and fat mass in overweight adults and may improve insulin resistance.
Organically-grown oranges have up to 35% more vitamin c than those grown in the conventional way. 88% of orange consists of vitamin C, the rest provides other vitamins and minerals. The fruit is rich in antioxidants that neutralize the effects of free radicals and unstable oxygen molecules in a human body, which are blamed for aging and a number of diseases.

Every year 20.000 to 340.000 farmworkers die of pesticide poisoning and 1 to 5 million farmworkers get sick from it. In organic cultivation no chemical-synthetic pesticides are used and significantly less pesticide residues are found on organic products in the store. Research indicates (Fantke & Jolliet, 2016) that this also has a health effect for consumers. In short, we can say with confidence that organic fruits and vegetables, on the average, are healthier. And that also goes for our organic oranges and grapefruits.

society

THUSANO means 'standing together' and we do this as a partnership with our workers. The BEE partners mainly Tswana people chose this name in their language on their own, and this is how we work. In this company there’s been 18 people taking part in making decisions. Every second month all Thusono partners come together in order to finalize plans regarding plantings and financial planning.

climate

As with all fruits, when it comes to energy, citrus trees rely on mother nature! Therefore in farming the dominant energy inputs are indirect and come from for the manufacture and transport of fertilisers (specifically nitrogen) and pesticides. Depending on the crop these can account for as much as 80% of the energy input. Since Groenheuwel grows organic citrus (therefore not using chemical fertilisers, pesticides or other agro chemicals), it comes as no surprise that their organic citrus fruits are considerably more energy efficient than their non organic counterparts.

Carbon Footprint:

Citrus fruit: 0.615 kg C02 / kg

Explanation:
The results of the study show the carbon footprint (amount of greenhouse gas emissions) of one kilogram product upon its arrival on European retail shelves.
All greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across the assessed supply chain were identified and analyzed through assessment questionnaires, site visits and desktop researches.
The assessments are done according to a comparable methodology as described in the PAS 2050 (Publicly Available Specification), a standard for carbon footprint assessment of goods and services developed by the British Standard Institute.
The carbon footprint assessment study takes into account direct emissions and indirect emissions.

In this assessment, direct GHG emissions include the combustion of fossil fuel related emissions for the vehicles and equipment on the farm, volatilization of refrigerants, and soil emissions related to nitrogen fertilization at farm level.
In this assessment, indirect GHG emissions include the emissions in relation to electricity purchased (used at farm level and for packing, storage, stationary cooling and other activities at the growers facilities and EOSTA’s pack house and office), emissions related to outsourced activities such as transport and mobile cooling from farm to pack house, to port, ocean vessel shipping, import handling and transport and distribution to retail. Indirect GHG emissions also include emissions related to the manufacturing and transport of agricultural inputs and packaging materials.
The calculations are based on GHG activity data provided by the different stakeholders of the supply chain, multiplied by the appropriate GHG emission factors. The GHG emission factors are provided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC); the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC); the International Energy Agency (IEA); the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)/Energy Information Administration (EIA); the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), the United Kingdom Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), as well as independent studies.

The carbon footprint study was carried out by Soil & More International BV.

water

Being located in a desert environment, water preservation is of utmost importance to Groenheuwel Farms. This is why they add a lot of organic matter in the form of compost to their soil. This is not only good for the fertility of the soil, but also for the water holding capacity. A good soil acts like a sponge and holds water over a long period of time, slowly releasing it to the plant roots to ensure an uninterrupted water supply.

Further water savings are achieved by using drip irrigation and mini sprinklers. Instead of flooding water onto the whole orchard, drip irrigation ensures that sufficient water is provided just where it is needed: near the tree. This prevents water loss by evaporation. Mini sprinklers cover a slightly larger area, providing water to cultivate a cover crop. This is essential in a hot climate to keep the soils cool; otherwise the microorganisms become inactive.

Of course Andre could tell when to water by observing the trees in the orchard – but he has decided to do better than that. To monitor the moisture in the soil he has placed so-called tensiometers in the orchard that tell him the soil moisture at various depths. This way Andre can make sure that he applies sufficient water for a healthy plant development without wasting this valuable resource.

André and Madaléne Spangenberg

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