NCT FORESTRY (NCT) announced its tree farmer of the year awards at its AGM held on a virtual platform recently. Two categories are assessed annually: small grower operation and commercial grower.
Award recipients are Bhekuyisa Shange (small grower) and Ben Seele (commercial grower). The winners were recognised for their excellence in sustainable plantation management.
Shange, a subsistence farmer from Manguzi in rural KwaZulu-Natal, manages a mixed farm of timber and cattle. With the introduction of forestry, he scaled up the business and began farming timber commercially. Realising that there is strength in numbers, Shange recruited other subsistence farmers and formed an association to farm timber on a commercial basis. With technical and silviculture advice from NCT, he follows sound management practices and accesses markets through the co-operative.
Seele, a fourth-generation timber farmer from Baynesfield, manages a farm diversified to a variety of species according to site requirements and various markets. The focus on diversification and market spread has proved beneficial in the current COVID-19 crisis. It has enabled him to adapt to changing markets and react rapidly to any opening in demand. Seele’s exceptional silviculture practices, good site/species selection, effective harvesting and loading operations and a good farming ethic are compliant with all aspects of sustainable plantation management and minimising impacts on the environment.
In 2001, NCT initiated the tree farmer of the year award, which is presented annually to tree farming operations that display excellence in sustainable plantation management.
