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South Africa is overlooking the economic potential of Aloe Ferox

25 March 2025 | Story Andre Damons | Photo Andre Damons

Dr Gerard Verhoef, an intellectual property (IP) commercialisation specialist at Barnard Incorporated Attorneys, gave an oral presentation at the second Southern African Mountain Conference.

South Africa is neglecting and overlooking the economic potential of Aloe ferox, forfeiting millions in potential revenue from this ‘green gold’. In doing so, the country is denying farmers and communities the chance to prosper from the land’s true bounty and is also undermining its biodiversity.

While South Africa harvests a mere 200 tons of Aloe ferox annually, its global competitors, such as Mexico, churn out a staggering 400 000 tons of Aloe vera, says Dr Gerard Verhoef, an intellectual property (IP) commercialisation specialist at Barnard Incorporated Attorneys. He gave an oral presentation titled IKS, the public domain and Biotrade during a session on Mountain People's Livelihoods at the second Southern African Mountain Conference (SAMC2025).

Researchers, policy makers, and practitioners from across Southern Africa and beyond came together from 17 to 20 March at the scenic Champagne Sports Resort in the central Maluti-Drakensberg for SAMC2025 themed ‘Overcoming Boundaries and Barriers’.

The next rooibos

SAMC2025, under the patronage of UNESCO and organised by the University of the Free State (UFS) Afromontane Research Unit (ARU) – in partnership with the African Mountain Research Foundation (AMRF) and the Global Mountain Safeguard Research Programme (GLOMOS) – delved into critical issues around mountain ecosystems, communities, governance, and transboundary cooperation.

Aloe ferox could be the next rooibos, which is successfully using its geographical indications (GI) status to unlock value throughout the biotrade value chain, Dr Verhoef said. Other South African plants that are also an underutilised asset with economic potential for the country, include honeybush, baobab, umsuzwane, rose geranium, imphepho, Cape chamomile, Kalahari melon, mafura, sour plum, and African ginger.

A GI consists of the name of the place of origin. It links a product to a specific geographical area, which indicates the origin of where the product is produced, processed, or prepared.

Overlooking the potential of Aloe ferox, which has been scientifically proven to contain double the amino acids and 20 times more antioxidants than its international cousin, Aloe vera, Dr Verhoef explains, South Africa is not only undermining its biodiversity but also the economy. Aloe ferox is most popularly used for its laxative effect (aloe bitters) and as a topical application to the skin, eyes, and mucous membranes. It is also used for many traditional uses as well as cosmetic purposes.

Time to capitalise

According to him, Aloe ferox remains an underutilised asset, relegated to niche markets and small-scale production due to regulatory constraints and the unwillingness to obtain access and benefit-sharing (ABC) permits needed to navigate obstacles in South Africa as well as Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique.

“This is not just an agricultural oversight; it is a glaring economic misstep. It is high time that South Africa capitalises on its green gold, turning the tables on international competitors and finally giving Aloe ferox the global podium it deserves. This is not just an agricultural oversight; it is a glaring economic misstep.

“Aloe ferox could be a flagship in the global wellness market, much like rooibos has become for tea. But until we embrace and promote our indigenous resources with the same vigour as we do foreign ones, our ‘green gold’ will remain just out of reach, a latent promise unfulfilled. It’s high time South Africa capitalise and turn the tables on international competitors, finally giving Aloe ferox the global podium it deserves,” said Dr Verhoef.

The path forward, he explains, requires a radical shift in how we view and value our native species. It demands a coalition of dedicated scientists, legal advisers, and farmers to advocate for more accommodating regulations and stronger market support. The pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries – major users of aloe products – must also be brought into the fold to help recalibrate the scales in favour of Aloe ferox. South Africa’s rich biodiversity is a national treasure, yet our approach to leveraging this wealth remains timid and fragmented.

News Archive

UFS research project aims to stimulate reflection on theological studies

2017-06-20

Description: Book, Theology and post Apartheid condition Tags: Book, Theology and post Apartheid condition

The first book in the ‘UFS Theological
Exploration’ academic series, called Theology
and the Post(Apartheid) Condition, has just
been released.
Photo: Supplied

The first study book with the title Theology and the Post(Apartheid) Condition, which is part of a new academic series by the Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of the Free State, is now available. Volume 1, compiled by Professor Rian Venter as editor, is the first book in the ‘UFS Theological Exploration’ academic series, which the faculty plans to release.

Transformation
Professor Venter says the transformation of processes and practices in communicating and creating knowledge has become an urgent task for public universities in a democratic South Africa. Much reflection has already gone into the methods and scope of transformation in higher education.

Although the faculty has done work on the implications of this for theology, there is one area of investigation that has not received much attention. It concerns the role of theological disciplines such as Old and New Testament, Missiology and Systematic Theology and Practical Theology, and specifically the relationship between academic disciplines and societal growth. The book focuses on these challenges and contains the intellectual undertakings of the contributors who are all lecturers, research fellows and post-graduate students linked to the faculty.

The questions
The key questions addressed are: what are the contours of the (post)apartheid condition and what are the implications for responsible discipline practices in theology. Professor Venter says the chapters in the book are logically arranged and moves from wider to more specific concerns. The first three chapters suggest broad perspectives on the challenges for theology in higher education, chart the changes, and make some suggestions for the future.

A dynamic field of study
The book states that theology has already experienced profound and radical changes over the past decade, which is known to us. All the chapters demonstrate these fundamental shifts, which have taken place in all theological sub-disciplines. Professor Venter says the contributions in the book illustrate that theology is a dynamic field of study, and is pursued with enthusiasm and commitment. Not all disciplines in theology are investigated for the book. However, the studies reflect the interests of the theologians in the Faculty of Theology at the UFS. Professor Venter hopes that the volume might stimulate further reflection of a similar nature by other theologians.

New insights
Through the ‘UFS Theological Exploration’ research series, the faculty hopes to stimulate new insights and new developments in academic progress and overall human growth. Series editor Professor Francois Tolmie says it is a fact that strong university research is necessary to achieve academic progress and advance human prospering. He says the faculty's research series will make a valuable contribution to these causes. Professor Tolmie says the ‘UFS Theological Explorations’ contains research of the highest academic standard which has been peer-reviewed to make significant educational contributions to core theological issues in South Africa and overseas.

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