Project highlights
Contact the team

Sibusisiwe Maseko
Senior Agricultural Analyst
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Sustainable Agriculture
Opportunities: fast facts
The biggest opportunities for farmers, green technology manufacturers and service providers are in:
Alternative energy sources and energy efficiency
Opportunities in energy audits and greener technologies for Western Cape’s 22,574 agriculture sector facilities, including packhouses and cold stores.
- Energy efficiency market: Estimated market for SA agriculture and agri-processing is R45.5 million, with significant scope for growth. In the wine sector, savings of up to â…” of energy costs has been realised.
- Solar PV in agriculture: Investments to date total R97.8 million with market size for solar-powered irrigation at R2.9 billion. With plummeting technology costs and municipalities allowing grid feed-in, the market potential is significant.
Water use efficiency technologies in irrigation
- Precision agriculture optimises farming inputs with savings of 30% in water using drip irrigation.
Conservation agriculture (CA)
- 70% of grain producers in Western Cape practice CA, with significant scope for expansion in other agriculture sectors.
- Market for manufacturing of no-till machinery is worth R1.14 billion, with opportunities for local manufacturing and export to the rest of Africa.
Controlled environment agriculture (CEA)
- CEA involves controlling the growing environment of a crop or animal through the use of technology (from netting to computerised systems).
- There are opportunities for local manufacture of CEA components and systems; private and equity finance; specialised skills.
- The market for CEA in the Western Cape is valued at R600 million with 15% growth per annum predicted.
GreenCape’s work in this space
Our work aims to drive the greening of agricultural value chain in the Western Cape in two ways:
- Growing the market for green technologies, systems and processes in agriculture and agri-processing.
- Developing sustainable and competitive agricultural value chains
We do this through GreenAgri and the support we provide through the agriculture sector desk – market intelligence, advocacy and networking opportunities to investors, businesses and farmers in the agriculture sector. For more information, see the links on the left.