Straight Outta Mpumalanga

Mpumalanga (/əmˌpuːməˈlɑːŋɡə/) is a province of South Africa. The name means “east”, or literally “the place where the sun rises” in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele, and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It constitutes 6.5% of South Africa’s land area. It shares borders with the South African provinces of Limpopo to the north, Gauteng to the west, the Free State to the southwest, and KwaZulu-Natal to the south. The capital is Mbombela. The climatic contrasts between the drier Highveld region, with its cold winters, and the hot, humid Lowveld allow for a variety of agricultural activities. 68% of Mpumalanga is used by agriculture. Crops include maize, wheat, sorghum, barley, sunflower seed, soybeans, macadamia’s, groundnuts, sugar cane, vegetables, coffee, tea, cotton, tobacco, citrus, subtropical and deciduous fruit. Forestry is extensive around Sabie in the far northeast of the province. Located near the forests, Ngodwana is the site of one of South Africa’s largest paper mills (Sappi). Natural grazing covers approximately 14% of Mpumalanga. The main products are beef, mutton, wool, poultry, and dairy.