Small farmer feeding dairy cattle. The cattle graze on communal land but, at present, there are too many cattle in the area and agronomists from the Ministry of Agriculture are encouraging farmers to reduce the number of cattle to prevent overgrazing and to increase production of milk products such as yogurt and sour milk. Study groups have thus been set up so that farmers can learn how to increase the value of the products they sell. - - General: General. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is giving technical assistance to the following three institutes that are part of the South African Agricultural Research Council (ARC):

The ARC-Animal Nutrition and Animal Products Institute (ACR-ANPI) is responsible for research, development and technology transfer in the field of animal feed, food and products. It aims to establish the optimum utilization of feed resources in divergent production systems, irrespective of size, to produce animal products of required quantity and quality in an environmentally friendly, affordable and sustainable manner.

The ARC-Animal Improvement Institute (ARC-AII) is trying to improve through scientific research, evaluation, development and technology transfer, the biological and economic efficiency of animals, thereby enhancing the quality of life of people.

The ARC-Plant Protection Research Institute (ARC-PPRI) aims to promote ecologically sound management strategies for pests and plant diseases and to catalogue alien plants and promote the utilization of advantageous organisms to strengthen agricultural production. Natural resources are thus preserved and crop losses caused by insects and plant diseases are alleviated or prevented.