Episode 1: The faces of conservation in agriculture

SAPPO farmer Johan van der Walt (Walt Landgoed) is helping to protect endangered vultures.

“Agriculture and nature are intrinsically linked. It takes a special kind of person to get involved in agriculture,” says Johan van der Walt, a farmer who produces pork at Walt Landgoed. He is the protagonist in Episode 1 of SAPPO Selekt’s mini-docuseries about agriculture and pig farming in South Africa. Faced with the dilemma of how to responsibly manage his farm’s mortalities, Johan was advised to establish a vulture restaurant by veterinarian Dr Andrew Tucker. Doing so would solve two problems – it would safely minimise the environmental waste on his farm; and would provide a continuous supply of bird-friendly food for dwindling vulture populations as their survival is threatened by human development. Many SAPPO farmers have also established their own open-air vulture restaurants or have donated a steady food supply to VulPro, a vulture rehabilitation non-profit and public benefit company. These feeding sites allow endangered vultures to feed themselves and their chicks, and they play an undeniable role in the survival and long-term sustainability of various vulture populations in Africa.