Nature Conservation is the organization that controls the wild hoodia harvest in the Republic of South Africa.

Harvesting is well controlled now and if proper done is much better than other wild harvest done with hoodia or other plants.

Although the word control can have a "speciall" meaning in Africa, a country in wich things like Farmer Murders are out of control, how can control the harvest of a plant ???

A resource assessment has to be done by RSA Nature Conservation.

Northern Cape: Only 3 test licenses were given for 3 farms.

Western Cape: Was allowed for a short season.

In both provinces the laws are strict.

Only plants over 40cm are harvested (hence the ring).

The knife must be clean and if posible sterilised after each cut and then put powder on the wounds.

Only 20% of the plant may be harvested.

The laws are now strict.

Like everywere there are many right collectors and some that are not so right.

All concerned farmers, collectors and conservationists are desperate to protect the Hoodia plants and in 1 or 2 years will be not possible to harvest in the wild at all, by law.

So all stock must come from cultivation and wild plants are the source of the seeds, so if no wild plants no seeds.

In the pic SA Hoodia gordoni after being harvested 20% of the branches.

Conditions in Namibia:

Hoodia harvesting is banned in Namibia.

Namibia has very big plants, from different species, but as good as gordonii from a dietetic point of view.

Some of the Namibian plants can reach over 100kg while the South Africa H. gordonii barely goes over 60 kgs from time to time.

These groups are trained harvesters and are capable of harvest big quantities in short time.

Some farms have huge amounts of wild hoodia and one giant farm was capable of delivered up to 180 tons of controlled harvested hoodia.

The harvested stems are carried to an special facility where are dried, milled and processed.

The drying ratio in Hoodia is about 12 to 1.