Mapping and Monitoring the Spatial Footprint of Agriculture in the Western Cape Province of South Africa – A Mixed Method Approach

Abstract

This paper discusses the methodologies employed to conduct spatial agricultural censuses in the Western Cape Province of South Africa, a region characterized by its diverse agricultural landscape and the significant economic contributions of its agricultural sector.  The integration of comprehensive spatial datasets into planning frameworks facilitates informed decision-making for stakeholders, researchers and regional planners, thereby contributing to the resilience of the agricultural sector amidst challenges such as climate variability, market fluctuations and competition for land resources. The Western Cape Department of Agriculture (WCDoA) thus embarked on a process to capture detailed information on agricultural activity in the province, starting in 2013 and repeated during 2017/18 and 2022/23.  Production is captured at field, orchard or vineyard scale, together with all related infrastructure and agri-processing facilities. A process of a priori photographic interpretation and field mapping, followed by expert airborne and ground observation was implemented, supported by remote sensing. The 2022/23 iteration of this survey exploited recent advances in remote sensing machine learning techniques to identify annual field crops, supported by an airborne (human-observed) area frame sampling process to train and verify the algorithms applied.  The resulting time-series of census mapping reveals spatial patterns of agricultural production, indicates trajectories of regional production shifts and highlights opportunities for intensification and diversification whilst addressing regional inequalities to guide and focus strategic planning. This research demonstrates a successfully implemented, mixed-method process of spatial agricultural census, which serves to enhance the understanding of agricultural dynamics and inform strategic responses to evolving agricultural landscapes.