Not quite Karoo lamb

What's hot, dry, and difficult to pin down?

It's the Karoo.

A war of words over precisely where South Africa's famous semi-desert begins and ends has prompted government intervention.

At stake is the right to market Karoo lamb, considered by many to be the tastiest red meat in the world.

The Department of Agriculture last week confirmed that a plan was being considered for government inspectors to visit farmers who claimed Karoo status.

If a farm had plenty of the bossies (plants) characteristic of the Karoo, then the farmer would be allowed to market his produce as Karoo lamb.

But if a farm lacked Karoo bossies it would be prohibited from making the claim.

Dirk Troskie, of the Western Cape department of agriculture, said the introduction of the "bossie inspections" was designed to bring South Africa into line with its international trading partners, particularly the EU, which is seeking protection of European "brands of origin" such as feta cheese.

A French company made headlines recently when it tried to claim ownership of the designation "rooibos" tea.

But some farmers have objected to the government's efforts to "commodify" the Karoo.

An initial plan based on a South African vegetation map prompted objections when it emerged that some Karoo districts had not been included in the officially designated area.

There was concern about how the system would be policed. The objections led to an alternative "all-inclusive" plan linking Karoo status to biodiversity instead of physical boundaries.

"The revised definition also allows anybody outside the vegetatively demarcated region to apply to be registered as [being] located in the Karoo," said Professor Johann Kirsten, head of Pretoria University's department of agricultural economics, extension and rural development.

Kirsten is chair of the Karoo Development Foundation.

But some farmers are unconvinced about the new plan, partly because of the huge practical difficulties involved in "proving" the Karoo.

A prominent objector, Pierre Gerber, said many Karoo lambs are fed lucerne, which casts doubt on whether their distinctive taste is linked to indigenous bossies.

"For 200 years farmers have been producing Karoo lamb. Now suddenly they must send experts to come and prove it - it's silly. My farm is 11000ha. Some are as big as 150000ha.

"How are you going to check all the bossies on a farm that size?"

He proposed merchandise protection based on an all-inclusive Karoo definition made by the National Geographical Naming Council.