Game Farming and Eco Tourism is part of the landscape and just like livestock game farms raise animals for food and tourism markets. The tremendous growth and development of the game farming industry is clearly visible throughout South Africa. Fences and other supporting infrastructure springing up all over the country. Estimations suggest that South Africa has more than 20 million ha of agricultural land.

Community Farms

“Community game farms” run by collectively Black South Africans were formed to help people benefiting from industry success. So, some of these farms were created through sustainable farming programs while others have been created through land reform programs. However, community “game farming“face many problems.

Because, too often most of the farms are controlled by Government rather than the beneficiaries. Government don’t pay attention to whether the people collectively running the farms actually make up a community. They often insists that beneficiaries continue to run the farm as a “game farm” even if they don’t want to.

Eco Tourism

For tourists, scenic beauty and wildlife remain the major tourism attractions that South Africa has to offer. In South Africa there is also an increasing awareness of the importance of wildlife and the socio-economic advantages of “Eco – tourism“. Furthermore, this shows that Eco-tourism is an important product for South Africa and a draw card for international and local tourists. Besides, the growing tourism market offer new and exciting opportunities for landowners.

Game Breeding

Game Breeding refer to the breeding of plains game and high – value game. Breeding is conducted by game farmers to increase numbers, to prevent endangered species from extinction, and better genetics (van der merwe et al.2010).

Furthermore, there are two breeding categories, namely intensive and existence breeding. Intensive breeding occurs in smaller fenced – off camps and focuses on developing animals with specific characteristics or traits (Taylor et al. 2016). Extensive breeding involves less human interference in the breeding process and animals can roam freely, and breed in a natural environment.

Mixed Farming

Mixed farming refers to the involvement of crop, poultry, and stock farming with wild life. So, the reason for this is that farmers want to maximize their income from the land they own or rent. Furthermore, in certain parts of a farm or game reserve these are more suitable for normal farming activities.

ANY SUCCESSFUL AND SUSTAINABLE GAME FARMING OPERATION WILL NEED A PROFESSIONAL AND WELL – STRUCTURED BUSINESS PLAN OR PROPOSAL TO ENSURE THEY STAY ON THE RIGHT PATH.