The History of SAAGA
1920 – First Avocado Orchard
Harry Ludman established the first avocado orchards with West Indian race seedlings planted in the Durban region. Unfortunately, due to poor fruit condition, the venture attracted little commercial attention.
1930 – Expansions
Dr. Merensky (Westfalia) and Lanion Hall (H.L. Hall & Sons) started planting orchards with greater success, replacing citrus affected by greening disease.
1930 – Railways
Insulated rail trucks were used to dispatch avocados from Johannesburg to Cape Town.
1967 – First Avocado Grower Meeting
The first meeting between avocado growers was held at Westfalia Estates, leading to the formation of the Avocado Growers Export Coordinating Committee.
1969 – First Name Change
The committee changed its name to Transvaal Avocado Growers’ Association.
1971 – Final Name Change
Transvaal Avocado Growers’ Association became known as the South African Avocado Growers’ Association.
1976 – First Research Committee
The first research committee was established, with Prof. Kotzé as chairman until 1994.
1977 – Oil Content Norms
Holtzapfel and Kuschke set the oil content norms for avocado fruit.
1981 – First Field Officer
SAAGA employed Nino Burelli as the first field officer, marking the start of extension services.
1981 – Monitoring Fruit Condition Overseas
Eileen Kuschke and later others monitored fruit condition on overseas markets, ensuring quality control.
1981 – Fruit Firmness Instrument
Blackie Swart constructed an instrument to quantify fruit firmness.
1983 – ANA Established
Formation of the Avocado Nurserymens’ Association to manage the plant improvement scheme.
1987 – First International Avocado Symposium
SAAGA hosted the first international avocado symposium, recognizing Jan Toerien's contributions.
1996 – Generic Promotions in UK
SAAGA started generic avocado promotions in the UK.
1998 – Densimeter Introduced
Implementation of densimeter and in-line fruit firmness measuring by Stefan Köhne.
2016 – World Avocado Organization Established
The World Avocado Organization was established to promote avocados worldwide, including members from South Africa and other leading producers.
2017 – SAAGA Celebrates 50 Years
SAAGA celebrated its 50th anniversary at the annual Research Symposium.
Information provided by:
Bezuidenhout J 2017. Subtrop Journal Volume 17. SAAGA – yesterday and tomorrow. MediaCom Uitgewers en Verteenwoordigers