Agriculture Economic Activities

The Ephraim Mogale Local Municipality is rural town, with rich economic activities with a populations of over 174 375. The municipality is characterized by agriculture economic domination activities as the primary source of agricultural produce. It contributes highly on the primary food production with no secondary or very little individual agricultural activities.

Approximately 80% of the land in the Ephraim Mogale Local Municipality is used for agricultural purposes and large area along the Olifants (Lepelle) river is unique agricultural land for agricultural production or activities.

The municipality is a major producer of citrus and table grapes, cotton and vegetable production, cattle ownership amongst subsistence farmers with a significant growth in the agricultural economic sector at 21.2%. Most of the produces are transported to major market, such as Johannesburg Fresh Produce and Tshwane Fresh Produce because the municipality does not have its own agricultural fresh produce market that allow local produces to be stored and sell to both the private and public consumers.

The agricultural economic sector is the largest employer which employs 31% of the active labour or the employees in the formal sector; private household employs 19%, community services - that is government or public services employs 15% and the trade sector which employs 11%. The agricultural economic sector is envisage to be the main contributors in addressing the Millennium Development Goals, were the Ephraim Mogale Local Municipality is envisage to halve unemployment, form just over 40% to 20.9%, with labour projection of 38 300 by 2015. These mean a creation of 19500 new jobs, an estimation of 1950 new jobs per year.

The municipality believes that majority of the job can be created through the secondary agricultural economic sector of agro-processing, the creations of agricultural corporates and organic farming. Already, the first organic farming project in Dicheung was launched in April 2011and four farms in other villages with the aim of extending the project to ten (10) farms by 2013 which will created about 500 fulltime jobs.