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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

Top PhD graduates hailed for excellent research in development and historical studies

2017-07-11

Prof Melanie Walker and Prof Ian Phimister

The Centre for Research on Higher Education and Development and the International Studies Group celebrated its PhD graduates on 26 June 2017. The four graduates were joined by their PhD promoters Prof Ian Phimister and Prof Melanie Walker, the Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, and their families, who came from far and wide, as well as various faculty academics and staff. Their areas of study ranged between Development Studies and Africa Studies, exploring issues that make a significant impact on the Southern African region and the continent as a whole.

In the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, specialising in Development Studies, Dr Faith Mkwananzi, promoted by Prof Merridy Wilson-Strydom, explored the lives and educational aspirations of marginalised migrant youth, a case study in Johannesburg. She focused on the complex nature of the daily lives and experiences of marginalised migrant youth and the complexities that influence the formation and achievement of educational aspirations in contexts of vulnerability and disadvantage. The study provides compelling evidence for policy and practice that can make the lives of marginalised young migrants better.

A focus on teaching and learning in Zimbabwean universities with a focus on quality as a human development, was what Dr Patience Mukwambo, put her research efforts into. Her work makes an original contribution to national, continental, and international debates on conceptualising and operationalising the quality of teaching and learning in higher education. She successfully developed a significant alternative approach to understanding what quality in higher education teaching and learning entails, the factors that influence the realisation of quality as she theorises it, and the overall importance for human development and human well-being in universities and society.

Dr Bothwell Manyonga, who also specialised in Development Studies, examined the broader debates on the purposes and practices of teaching and learning in higher education with a case study at two South African universities, with an emphasis on principles of social justice and equity. In the thesis, he developed a model that proposes grounds for (re)thinking sociology teaching and learning to address how the capabilities approach and dominant human capital theory might complement each other in higher education and curriculum development. This takes into account both the instrumental aim of employment, which is of concern to students, as well as the intrinsic goods of critical discourse and personal development.

In the Faculty of the Humanities, with a specialisation in Africa Studies, Dr Abraham Mlombo’s doctoral research explored the relationship between Southern Rhodesia and South Africa 1923-1953, examining the ‘special relationship’ between the two countries from the former’s perspective, highlighting the complexity of the ties between them by examining (high) political relations, economic links and social and cultural ties. “It is through Abraham’s research that for the first time, black experiences of both sides of the colonial border are detailed,” said Prof Phimister.

In congratulating the graduates, Prof Melanie Walker expressed that a lot of hard work was put into training the PhD candidates and they had without a doubt produced work that was of the highest level, at international standards.

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