Sustainable horticulture and poultry farms in South Africa

This report gives a trip report on the visit by Jouke Campen and André Aarnink visited South Africa from 24 th of February till 1 st of March 2009 as well as the preliminary calculations for the application of solar radiation as a heating source for greenhouses and poultry farms.This project is financed by the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food quality (BO-10-006-118 Sustainable temperature control system in confined agricultural production)The goal of the mission was 1. Discuss with stakeholders in the public and private sector in SA on a their view of a more sustainable confined agricultural production.2. Identify the current status of protected horticulture and poultry farms in SA in terms of fossil fuel use and production levels.The major outcomes of the mission are:• Farmers are eager to learn about ways to heat the facilties with other means then coal.• The climate is ideal for solar energy applicationThe preliminary calculations using the weather data provided show that the application of solar energy as a heating source in South Africa is economically feasible.The next step should be to demonstrate the feasibility and to monitor the energy saving potential.