Indholdsfortegnelse for 24 November 2023 i Farmer's Weekly

Global agriculture is under pressure to produce more food, use fewer resources to produce food, and remain an important employer of rural communities. This is a lot of pressure to place on the shoulders of farmers but it is the nature of the sector. Agriculture has always been a major player in most economies. It faces many challenges, but there have also been great advancements in food and animal production. One advancement that is perhaps still lagging is the involvement of women in agriculture, particularly in developing nations. In many of these countries, according to Monica Sorribas, Northern Europe business leader for Corteva Agriscience, women are still not being given the same opportunities as their male counterparts, and, according to the UN, “closing the gaping gender gap in agriculture could…

The largest relocation of vultures ever undertaken reached a critical milestone when approval was granted to move a first tranche of 155 birds to a new home in the Eastern Cape. Now that the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment has given the green light, work is underway on a bespoke facility at Shamwari Private Game Reserve adjacent to its existing Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre in the Eastern Cape. VulPro at Shamwari will be the new home of the Cape and African white-backed vultures, which will be transported from their current home at VulPro’s Hartbeespoort Dam facility in late January during the first phase of the two-year relocation programme. VulPro is the only vulture conservation facility of its kind on the continent and is spearheading population restocking and supplementation to…

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is a US trade act that was enacted on 18 May 2000 as Public Law 106 of the 200th Congress of the US. The 2023 AGOA Forum was recently hosted in South Africa. It was a significant meeting between the US and 40 African nations that are all part of AGOA as an American trade agreement programme. The significance of the AGOA arrangement is especially important for South African agriculture as a sector and follows closely on the BRICS Summit that also took place in South Africa this year, where agriculture was also one of the focal points. RENEWAL AGOA will be renewed in 2025 and South Africa is currently strongly lobbying for an earlier renewal. The reasons for this are important and…

Supply chain executive at Beefmaster Group Roelie van Reenen welcomed Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana’s acknowledgement of the pivotal role of local government in delivering effective services in the recent Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS). He also welcomed the minister’s recognition that provincial and municipal spheres were under pressure to meet increasing infrastructure service demands. Godongwana said in the MTBPS that government expected gross debt to balloon to an astronomical 77% of GDP by 2025/26. He also stated that effective local governance was the bedrock of service delivery, emphasising government’s commitment to supporting the sustainability and financial stability of municipalities. “However, many of our municipalities are on the brink of failure. We have said many times that the collapse of agricultural towns due to lack of service delivery would have…

The South African Cane Growers’ Association (SA Canegrowers) is calling on Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana to reverse the decision to institute an increase in the Health Promotion Levy (HPL/sugar tax) in the Draft Rates and Monetary Amounts and Amendment of Revenue Laws Bill. This followed Godongwana’s Medium-Term Budget-Policy Statement earlier this month. The main objective of the sugar tax, as stipulated by South Africa’s HPL policy, is to decrease incidences of diabetes and obesity. Government blamed the obesity crisis on the high consumption of “processed sugars”, and then began engaging with industry professionals on a proposed sugar tax, which later changed into the Health Promotion Levy on its eventual legislation in 2018. The sugar tax equates to 2,1c/g of sugar above a 4g threshold per 100ml. This amounts to…

IRELAND Northern Ireland’s Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) said that crop farmers suffered a major blow due to the floods that occurred in November. According to a statement by the UFU, the areas hit included the towns of Down, Antrim and Armagh where farmers lost most of their crop. In a social media post, it said: “This is a major blow for our growers who have put a huge amount of investment into producing a premium crop and are now trying to salvage what remains.” Ireland’s government has also been in talks with the union to assess the damage. ISRAEL Israel’s Agricultural Ministry said that farming in southern Israel, near the Gaza border, has been halted as only a few farmers remain in the area. The ministry said there were only…

More than 9 000 farmers in the Eastern Cape will produce grain on 27 774ha through a R93 million investment from the Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform. This was announced when MEC Nonkqubela Pieters kicked off the provincial grain planting season at the Dalasile Agri-Park (DAP) in Nkondlo, AB Xuma Local Municipality. The Dr AB Xuma Local Municipality will be supported with 2025ha under the department’s Grain Development Partners through the Agri-Park, while 1905ha is split between mechanisation and production inputs to support smallholder grain producers. Mayor Siyabulela Zangqa stressed the importance of ensuring inclusive rural economic development by investing in agriculture. “We need to push back the frontiers of poverty, underdevelopment and unemployment. And if we want to improve food security, agricultural development is an opportunity to…

The Brent crude oil market is usually influenced by global demand, which also correlates with the economic growth and activities of key consuming economies like the US and those in Asia. This piece explores key events that influenced global oil prices from the second quarter of 2023 until the shoulder of the fourth quarter. In the second quarter of 2023, the US oil market experienced price fluctuations, recording an overall 11,3% decline at a quarterly average of US$77,89/barrel. This was on the back of Federal Reserve Bank interest rates hikes, which decreased demand for crude oil in the US. Amongst other factors, the looming rumours of a recession, increasing inflation and the US debt ceiling deal contributed to the sloping of prices and market uncertainties. The Chinese economy also had…

Globally, the poultry industry is still recovering from the reduced demand from traditional markets following the COVID-19 lockdowns including the subsequent pressure from increased feed costs. The enforced lockdowns across the world affected global trade disrupting feeding ingredients severely and inflating prices of both maize and soya beans. Avian influenza is now stalling the recovery of the industry and continues to be one of the biggest challenges facing poultry producers in 2021 to 2022. (Figure 1). Avian flu is a highly contagious viral disease that affects several species of food-producing birds, pet birds and wild birds. Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) strains may cause severe clinical signs and potentially high mortality rates among poultry. Compounding these effects is the recurring Russia- Ukraine war that started last year. FOOD INSECURITY This…

Sip & Savour If you are looking for a dessert wine or something different to pair with a cheese board or oysters, try Delheim Estate’s Noble Late Harvest, Edelspatz Riesling. The wine, which sells for about R360 for a 375ml bottle, has a perfect balance between sugar and acid, layered with honeysuckle, dried peaches, marmalade and baking spice. As Delheim’s winemaker, Nongcebo Langa, puts it: “Think of your favourite Christmas memory and this wine would represent that.” But this award-wining wine is special for many more reasons than its delicate taste. First, production was sparked by what seemed like a failed Chen in Blanc harvest in 1979. “My father, Spatz Sperling, wrote the harvest off because of excessive rot. Frans Malan, who used to be the winemaker of Simonsig, however,…

It was business as usual in the Johannesburg office of Woolf Joel on that fateful day of 14 March 1898. With him was a Mr Strange as well as an individual who went under the name of Franz Ludwig Kurt von Weltheim. An argument broke out between the three men and shots were fired. Joel was shot in his chair and slumped forward dead onto his desk, after dropping his revolver onto the floor. The two survivors offered no resistance to their arrest by the police and subsequently appeared in court, both pleading not guilty to a charge of murder. It caused a sensation overseas and the incident was covered by the New York Times as well as the New Zealand Herald, among others. At the trial there were many…

The views expressed in our weekly opinion piece do not necessarily reflect those of Farmer’s Weekly. This article was first published by The Conversation. Read the original at shorturl.at/akpDR. “The Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement presented by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to Parliament on 1 November 2023 is intended to provide a preview of government’s public finance plans over the next three years. It does not actually commit government to anything, either in law or in practice. Nevertheless, it is a crucial document because it presents what the National Treasury intends to be the broad, financial foundation for the functioning of national, provincial and local governments in the near future. This year’s statement is particularly important for two reasons. The first is that South Africa’s fiscal situation is arguably at its…

ARCHIVE Losses due to weeds in lands and weed seeds in commercial grains in South Africa in 1985 were estimated at R1 billion a year [R11,5 billion today], according to Dr WP Grobbelaar, [then] chief director of agronomy of the [then] Department of Agriculture and Water Supply. The total value of chemical herbicides used during 1985 in plant production, including the citrus, deciduous fruit and sugar industries, as well as all field crops, came to R246 million [R2,8 billion]. When these figures are considered, the magnitude of the weed problem becomes even more evident, Grobbelaar says. Of the R246 million, 54,5% is spent on weed control in maize, 13% on sugar cane, 8% on winter cereals, 6% on grain sorghum, and 4% on oilseeds. The rest goes to other crops. The…

The debt burden on Africa created by climate change has become a central topic of conversation ahead of the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28). Despite verbal commitments, Africa has been left with its empty hand outstretched, awaiting aid. During the previous conference, South Africa and the Africa group put forward a proposal to include the special needs and circumstances of the continent on the conference agenda, but to no avail. Barbara Creecy, Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, indicated that the proposal will again be made at COP28. “Acknowledging the special circumstances of the African continent will be an important step in upholding the principle of differentiated responsibility, and would recognise the continent’s vulnerability to climate change, but also the need for mitigation and adaptation support,” said…

Zimbabwe’s high food inflation is a major source for concern, according to a recent report by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FewsNet). Food accounted for a substantial portion of households in the country’s financial outlays, said the organisation. The authors of the FewsNet report, which focuses on the Southern African regional supply and market outlook, pointed out that food price inflation in Zimbabwe was over 10%. The country had been dealing with persistently high food inflation for nearly a decade. The situation was worsened by high debt and limited social expenditure, which limited subsidies and social assistance. It was highlighted in the report that above-average rainfall had been registered mainly in the eastern and southern areas of Southern Africa that supported maize production in the 2022/23 season. These positive…

Zimbabwe recorded a 13% increase in the number of cattle slaughtered during the 12 months ending in September 2023. This meant that 339 000 cattle were processed during the past year, up from 299 000 in the previous year. Finance, Investment Promotion, and Economic Development Minister Prof Mthuli Ncube said in an article published by Food Business Africa that the increase could be ascribed to the government’s commitment to supporting the industry’s growth. This included investments in disease control, infrastructure development, and facilitating market access for beef producers. Kerry Steward, chairperson of the Zimbabwean Tuli Cattle Breeders’ Society, said that the Zimbabwean stud industry played a marked role in the ongoing development of that country’s beef cattle production sector. “The fact that the stud breeders made use of natural selection…

The El Niño looming over the Southern African region may reverse Zambia’s gains made in the agriculture sector, with the period of October to March 2024 projected to experience normal to below-normal rainfall patterns, fuelling concerns of dry spells, drought and poor harvests, said the agriculture ministry. According to the ministry, Zambia has in recent years enjoyed a monopoly in maize production averaging 2,7t to 3,6 million tons since early 2000, aided by input subsidies from the government which assisted more than three million smallholders and commercial farms. However, the impending El Niñorelated climate reports, expected to be characterised by above-average temperatures and below-normal rainfall during the November-April season may reverse all the gains made by Zambia in the output of maize and other crops. According to the Southern Africa…

Farmers frequently query the effectiveness of generic advertising campaigns. What is meant by generic advertising? In their book Advertising, Wright, Warner, Winter and Zeigler explain that the role of advertising is to inform consumers about goods that he or she would not otherwise know about, to tell the consumer where specific products are available, and what the purchase terms are. Out of total advertising spend, the portion spent to inform the consumer is very small. The bulk of advertising spend is to shift the consumer from buying one product rather than another product. Generic advertising differs from product promotion by manufacturers. Brand advertising tries to increase a specific brand’s slice of the pie, whereas the goal of generic advertising is to increase the size of the pie. Generic advertising can…

A group of US scientists have conducted research that could lead to cows that produce 20 times more milk than dairy cows through crossbreeding. The team, from the University of Illinois College of Agriculture, Consumer and Environment Sciences, published the paper ‘Climate-smart cows could deliver 10-20× more milk in Global South’ in Animal Frontiers and are ready to put the research into action in Tanzania. The research involved grouping Holsteins and Jersey cows with the heat and disease resistance of Gyrs (an indigenous breed of cattle found in tropical countries). “Five generations of crosses result in cattle capable of producing 10l of milk per day under typical Tanzanian management, blasting past the half-litre average yield of indigenous cattle,” they wrote. Project leader Matt Wheeler said their aim was to develop…

A major challenge for the domestic animal farming sector, and one that has been raised by our members in various engagements for some time, is the weaknesses in South Africa’s biosecurity system. Admittedly, biosecurity breaches are not uniquely South African and have become a significant challenge globally. We frequently hear of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in cattle, African swine fever in pigs and avian influenza in poultry worldwide. However, very few countries have had to deal with the scale of these disease outbreaks almost simultaneously, as South Africa has had to do. In 2022, six of our nine provinces reported FMD outbreaks. The conditions haven’t changed much. In fact, on November 4 this year, the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) announced “a suspicion of an outbreak of…

The 2023/24 apricot and peach harvests are expected to be below average, and the pear harvest slightly down, according to the Canning Fruit Producers’ Association (CFPA). According to feedback from regions, producers’ dams are full following “the wettest winter in years,” bringing welcome relief, especially to farmers in the Klein Karoo. Frost damage, however, occurred regionally, particularly affecting producers in Calitzdorp, Ladysmith and the Koo, while strong, cold winds with rain during flowering resulted in damage to fruit in the Keisie in the Breede River Valley, Wolseley and Tulbagh regions. Jacques Jordaan, CEO of the CFPA, said that the impact of the weather varied from region to region. At the time of writing, for instance, the ground was still wet in some lowlying areas, resulting in peach trees dying because…

Despite the increase in the number of veterinary posts, the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) has a vacancy rate of 32% for veterinarians. This translates to 103 unfilled posts from the 326 positions that were funded by the state, according to Noko Masipa, DA Shadow Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development. In response to a written parliamentary question from the DA on the number of budgeted veterinary posts in the DALRRD, Minister Thoko Didiza of the DALRRD revealed that the total number of approved and budgeted for veterinary posts had increased from 324 to 326 posts. Masipa said in a statement: “It is concerning that South Africa is currently facing an outbreak of avian influenza and rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus with limited veterinary doctors…

Delegations from the Netherlands, UK, US, Vietnam and Thailand made their way to Beijing, China for the 2023 World Agrifood Innovation Conference at the beginning of November. According to the China Agricultural University (CAU), who co-hosts the event with the Beijing Pinggu District government, the event has attracted close to 1000 guests from across the world. The CAU said that the theme of the event was ‘Food Security and Future Agrifood’. The opening statement was made by Yin Li, secretary of the Beijing Municipal Party Community, who said that food security was a major worldwide issue. “China, with less than 9% of the world’s arable land, sustains nearly one-fifth of the global population, contributing to global food security and providing Chinese solutions,” said Yin. “Currently, we are promoting a Chinesestyle…

Rising farmers from 40 community food gardens across South Africa were given the opportunity to sell their fresh, organically grown produce to the public through the Shoprite and Checkers’ Market Day recently. Launched in 2017, the market day is part of the retailer’s commitment to support and strengthen the local communities in which it trades. It serves as an opportunity for smallscale food gardens to sell their produce at selected Shoprite and Checkers supermarkets directly to customers. Mpho Mutaung from the Carroll Shaw Memorial Centre in Randfontein, Gauteng, said: “The produce we sold at the market day was grown with our very own hands in our own garden, which is a lifeline for previously abused men. The Shoprite Group supports local community gardens all over the country with the purpose…

In keeping with the theme “Water is Life, Water is Food. Leave No One Behind,” farmers and residents on the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) North Coast were urged to use water effectively and efficiently during the World Food Day celebration held recently. The national Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development chose KZN to host the event as the province is largely rural and predominantly agricultural. The department’s objective was to raise awareness on the importance of managing water wisely while encouraging families to grow vegetable gardens to boost food security. Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Thoko Didiza said the department was partnering with the Department of Water and Sanitation to create awareness and to educate communities on water conservation. “We want to work with experts to educate…

South Africa Wine has recently launched the South African Wine Industry Professional Body (SAWIPB) in Paarl. Kachné Ross, people and skills development manager at South African Wine, said the professional body was mandated to grow the competency of the industry’s workers by means of voluntary association. “With this initiative, we aim to maintain knowledge and skills in the wine industry to perform optimally, to help workers remain up to date with new technology regulations and industry trends, and to inform decision processes aimed at growing the industry,” said Ross. SAWIPB will aim to promote the skills and competence of people within primary and secondary production, as well as tourism, marketing and logistics and distribution. It will also assist learning and development initiatives to address skills needs, monitor and address the…

Landrace strains, the historical cannabis cultivars, have for generations thrived in specific regions. While modern cannabis genetics often seize the spotlight, these heritage strains are at risk, threatened by the passage of time and the pervasive trend of hybridisation. Preserving landrace strains isn’t solely rooted in nostalgia; it’s a critical endeavour to safeguard genetic diversity with immense potential for the future of cannabis in agriculture and medicine. Landrace strains have evolved over generations, adapting to the unique climatic and geographic conditions of their native habitats. Whether nestled in the rocky mountains of Afghanistan or flourishing in the lush hills of Jamaica, these strains carry distinct qualities that have allowed them to flourish. Landrace strains are not just repositories of genetic diversity but also a testament to the enduring nature of…

My Big Fat Greek Taverna by Costa Ayiotis (Melinda Ferguson Books, R320) Long before MasterChef and Come Dine With Me, Ayiotis was one of those quintessential entrants who longs to throw in a good job and run a restaurant. Trained as a lawyer and having served as a South African diplomat at the UN in New York in 1990, you’d think he’d know better - but cosmopolitan eating around New York and frequent entertaining with his wife Christine showed him the difference between a profession and a passion. As he puts it: “I’d spent many of my happiest moments in restaurants, so it made perfect sense for me to open one.” There’s plenty of meat in this jaunty memoir of a startup in Hout Bay - and plenty of tips…

Dear Prof McCrindle, Diesel is very expensive. Can donkey carts be used for transport on farm roads, or is it illegal? Kind regards, Anonymous Dear Anonymous, The use of donkey carts on farm roads is legal. If they are roadworthy and the donkeys and mules wear correct, well-fitted harnesses, they can be used on other roads too. There is a policy statement by the National Department of Transport regarding animal traction, published as a White Paper in the Government Gazette in 2018. Government’s attitude regarding animal traction and how it should be managed was published by Transport Minister JP Radebe in 2007. The sad thing is that the ability to train donkeys for harness and to pull carts is rapidly vanishing in South Africa. These days, it is also very difficult…