On Wednesday 4 April 2017, the South African Avocado Growers' Association celebrated its fiftieth anniversary at a lunch to celebrate avocados, its growers and its consumers.
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Bonnie Buthelezi, market development manager at Subtrop, with Jane Badham, dietitian
Dietitian Jane Badham regards avocados as a singularly versatile food in the kitchen, especially in a country like South Africa with one of the highest global rates of hypertension. Its high levels of monounsaturated, therefore good fats, as well as potassium, makes it a perfect substitute for other fatty foods like bacon or cheese.
"The South African Avocado Growers’ Association (SAAGA) is encouraging all South Africans to 'Add an Avo' to every meal this avo season! SAAGA has been instrumental in changing consumers’ perceptions of avos, from an ‘unhealthy’ fruit to one offering important health benefits," states the press release.
South Africa’s avocado industry dates from the 1920s when the first avocado orchards were planted, but these yielded mediocre results due to disease.
In the 1930s the fruit attracted the attention of two giants in South African agriculture, Dr Hans Merensky, a noted geologist who devoted his last decades to his farm, the original Westfalia (today part of Hans Merensky Holdings) and of Hugh Lanion Hall, founder of the equally famous Hall’s.
Avocados came to replace citrus in the Lowveld of South Africa and by 1967 the need for a united front to communicate, improve marketing, coordinate research and steer the industry was recognised. It was only fitting that the founding meeting, on 27 November 1967, of the new and voluntary South African Avocado Growers' Association would take place on the Westfalia Estates, near Tzaneen.
The SAAGA Research Committee dates from 1976 and its chair at the first meeting, Prof Ballie Kotzé, would later head up SAAGA’s Phytophthora root rot research.
According to Dr Jurg Bezuidenhout, formerly of Westfalia Technological Services, who has chronicled the history of the industry: “Initially avocado orchards, which replaced citrus due to the greening disease, thrived until the late 1960s when the trees became infected with root rot, while at the same time fruit diseases became a major waste factor. The industry faced being wiped out by either Phytophthora or Pseudocercospora or both. Teams at Westfalia, the Pathology Department (University of Pretoria) and elsewhere achieved marvellous success in combating both diseases from 1977 to 1982.” The Westfalia team, and particularly plant pathologist Joe Darvas, developed the practice of injecting phosphorous acid into trees.
Some other achievements by SAAGA are: the development of postharvest protocols; protocols for phytosanitary pests in exporting avocados and a successful protocol for shipping ‘Hass’ to the USA in 2009 and 2010. They studied and implemented the use of Controlled Atmosphere and later 1-MCP (SmartFresh); the development of the firmometer in 1981, followed by the implementation of the densimeter and in-line fruit firmness measuring. SAAGA hosted the first international avocado symposium in 1985 under the late Jan Toerien of Westfalia, first President of the International Avocado Society.
“SAAGA’s philosophy provided a sound base for voluntary cooperation between growers, through the supply chain to the exporters on a national level which has seldom been achieved in the agricultural industry in South Africa,” concludes Bezuidenhout.