| | The Institute originated as the Division of Chemistry,
established in 1902 as one of the 10 Divisions of the Transvaal Department of
Agriculture under the British regime. The Division’s function was to provide
agricultural and non-agricultural routine and regulatory chemical services to
various Government Departments. In 1911, after South Africa became independent
as the Union of South Africa, the four State Departments of Agriculture
amalgamated as the Union Department of Agriculture, maintaining the Division of
Chemistry with laboratories in Pretoria as its headquarters, in Johannesburg and
in Cape Town.
This Division was also
charged with the coordination and direction of research and
investigational work undertaken by the Schools of Agriculture at
Cedara, Potchefstroom, Glen and Grootfontein. In 1923 the Department of
Public Health’s laboratories were made the responsibility of the
Division but the laboratories of the Division of Veterinary Education
and Research at Onderstepoort, specializing in biochemistry, were
retained by the latter Division. The
two Divisions, however, jointly researched aspects such as mineral
deficiencies in soils and plants. In 1925 a Soil Survey subdivision,
responsible for national soil surveys to determine soil suitability for
irrigation and other agricultural uses, was established at the Division
of Chemistry, and in 1929 the systematic collection and tabulation of
data on the soils of South Africa started. Much attention was paid to
saline soil investigations, a major problem in irrigated and irrigable
lands identified in the 1800s. A new
phase was entered in 1935 when the name of the Division changed to the
Division of Chemical Services to indicate more clearly the wide extent
of agricultural and non-agricultural duties performed for state
departments. By 1960, the workload for non-agricultural analyses had
increased, hampering the Division’s research and soil survey work,
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the Department decided to retain responsibility for agricultural work
only. In 1962 the Division was renamed the Soil Research Institute. Soil surveys were comprehensive when initiated, including the
correlation of soil with the meteorology, topography, geology and botany of the
region investigated. The transfer of the Department’s agrometeorological service
to the Institute in 1970 was therefore a logical step. Also in 1970, an
Irrigation Planning section was established, and in 1971 the Institute was
renamed the Soil and Irrigation Research Institute (SIRI). Following a
major inspection in 1978, SIRI was allocated national responsibility for
intensive studies on the natural resources soil, water (within agricultural
context) and climate, as well as the interpretation of related information. This
enabled a holistic approach on soil-plant-atmosphere relationships. The
electronic integration of natural resource data to ensure sustainability and
profitable agriculture was a natural outflow and in mid-1980, a geographic
information division was begun at SIRI. The final technological development was
the establishment of a remote sensing unit at SIRI. This was initiated in 1972
when the Department and other role players compiled a report to participate in
an American satellite venture to speed up land use planning. In 1992 the research component of the then Department of
Agricultural Development became the parastatal Agricultural Research Council
(ARC), and the Institute was renamed the Institute for Soil, Climate and
Water (ISCW). ARC-ISCW’s new development phase thus commenced with leading
expertise in soil science, agrometeorology, soil-water science, spatial
modelling, geographic information systems, remote sensing and analytical
chemistry, enabling the ARC to realize related objectives and strategies in
integrated natural resource use and management. The Institute functions under
the ARC Business Division: Research and Innovation Systems. _______________________________________
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