History - Agriculture

Lydenburg is known for its fertile soil and a variety of crops are cultivated

Archaeological excavations show that Iron Age agriculture was similar to traditional Pedi agriculture. The men cleared the land using the slash and burn method. It was the women’s task to sow and maintain the crops and to harvest. Sorghum, millet beans and peanuts were planted as staple foods.

The introduction of maize (in about 1750 A.D.), tobacco and the plough by the Voortrekkers, changed the traditional agriculture. Slash-and-burn cultivation was now coming to an end because of an increasing population pressure and therefore diminishing availability of agricultural land.

With the arrival of the Voortrekkers in Lydenburg in 1845, farms were allocated since most of the Trekkers were farmers. The Lydenburg Co-Operative Agricultural Society was formed in 1909 under leadership of Mr Elias de Souza, to market the farmers' products. A large variety of products are farmed in the district today namely soya and dry beans, peaches, potatoes, cotton, sugar beans, sunflower seed and lucern. Cattle, sheep, goats and trout are bred.

Posted: 2008/06/19