Indholdsfortegnelse for 20+27 December 2024 i Farmer's Weekly

The year has finally come to an end and, in my final editorial for 2024, I want to wish all our loyal readers a very merry Christmas. May you find peace and happiness among your friends and families as you celebrate the festive season. Predictions are that 2025 is not going to be an easy year (is any year ever really easy?) but South Africans are robust and resilient. We have many challenges in this country, but the good far outweighs the bad, and through unity and community, I believe the country can and will become ever stronger. Godspeed as we enter the new year and, as always, until we meet again, happy farming! Janine Ryan – Editor As we reflect on 2024, it‘s clear that the year brought its…

Raisins South Africa (Raisins SA) welcomes Wessel Lemmer as its new CEO, effective 6 January 2025. We acknowledge the success of our team under the leadership of our outgoing CEO, Dr Ferdie Botha, who has played an outstanding strategic role in growing Raisins SA’s capacity, service delivery and brand awareness over the past seven years. ‘’Dr Botha leaves us with a great team here at Raisins SA. I look forward to building on his legacy as we continue to develop the raisin industry, not only for the producers and packers represented on our board, but also in the interests of all key stakeholders. “We all have a stake in the success of a sustainable and profitable raisin industry. Our immediate priorities are to promote demand for an excellent quality product,…

January REPORTS SHOW DETERIORATION OF WATER INFRASTRUCTURE The quality of drinking water and wastewater management had deteriorated, while water losses and the supply of nonrevenue water had increased, according to the Department of Water and Sanitation’s ‘Blue Drop’, ‘Green Drop’ and ‘No Drop’ reports. All 958 water supply systems in each of the 144 water services authorities in the country were included in the Blue Drop report, which assessed their infrastructure, maintenance of infrastructure, operations, monitoring and controls, and staff skills and qualifications. Only 26 water-supply systems scored more than 95% and qualified for the prestigious Blue Drop Certification, compared with 44 in 2014. However, over this time, the number of systems in a critical state of performance increased from 174 in 33 water services authorities to 277 in 62…

Farmers who have built but not registered dams on their farms have until the end of January 2025 to do so. Otherwise, they’ll face punitive measures from the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS). Those who have already registered their dams are also requested to update their details. A Government Gazette notice was published in November calling for the registration of existing dams with a safety risk, as mandated by the National Water Act (No. 36 of 1998), along with Regulations 2, 3, and 37 of the Dam Safety Regulations. According to the gazette, the DWS considered a dam with a safety risk to be one with a storage capacity exceeding 50 000m³ (50 megalitres) of water, a dam containing water with other substances, and a dam with a vertical…

Bühler, a Swiss-based company that provides solutions and equipment for various industries, including food and animal feed processing, has pledged that by 2025, it will deliver scalable solutions that will reduce energy, waste and water by 50% in the value chains of its customers. Speaking to Farmer’s Weekly, David Austin, Bühler’s Western Cape customer relations manager, said most of these improvements would be driven using sensor and data-processing technologies aimed at improving efficiencies and reducing wastage. “In a world like ours where every cent counts, it is no longer enough to think you are doing well [financially]; you need to substantiate it with continuous performance measurement.” He explained that having access to data allowed customers to establish baseline performance, allowing the identification of up or down trends that could indicate…

In the first week of November, the project management officer in the Presidency announced that President Cyril Ramaphosa had appointed Minister Parks Tau of the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) to chair the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) in charge of the Cannabis Master Plan (CMP). This, according to Ramaphosa, was to ensure greater advancement of the CMP. Tau explained to Farmer’s Weekly that the CMP had moved from the Department of Agriculture to the DTIC to promote the industrialisation and commercialisation of the cannabis industry. “Regulation of hemp has shifted from the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) to the Department of Agriculture, a significant change that aims to alleviate existing restrictions. “SAHPRA will now only handle the licensing for cannabis intended for medicinal use, not for the…

The cannabis-infused beverage category is changing the drinks industry, providing a more sophisticated and convenient option for consuming cannabis, which has typically been through smoking or vaping. Cannabis-infused beverages are in high demand from an ever-growing class of consumers who wish to use cannabinoids in a controlled and respectful manner. CONSUMER-FRIENDLY The appeal of cannabis-infused drinks is derived from their user-friendly design and versatility: • Smoke-free alternative. Beverages provide a way to enjoy cannabis without inhaling. • Precise dosing. Assessing dosage is much easier for consumers as there is clear labelling. • Social compatibility. These products not only cater to individual needs but also allow people to integrate cannabis into their lifestyles with minimal disruption. Cannabis drinks can also fit seamlessly into social gatherings, much like wine or beer. •…

HOW HAS 2024 TREATED GRAIN PRODUCERS? This was a challenging year because of the El Niño-induced drought. However, South Africa managed to produce enough food for domestic use and was able to export the small surplus available to our neighbouring countries, despite the severe conditions. The pressure on profitability and sustainability in grain production remain and farmers are still dependent on above-normal yields to stay profitable. This is not sustainable over the long term but has forced producers to become ever more efficient. WHAT ARE THE BEST- AND WORST-CASE SCENARIOS FOR OUR GRAIN PRODUCERS IN 2025? We expected a La Niña weather phenomenon for 2025, but it faded as the summer season progressed. The hope is that the neutral sea temperatures will result in a good 2024/25 production season. In…

LOOKING BACK AT 2024, WHAT STOOD OUT AS LAND BANK’S ACHIEVEMENTS? Land Bank’s organisation-wide restructuring effort that began in 2021 to re-establish the bank as a leader in agricultural finance began to bear fruit. On the financial front, we were able to reach a landmark debt restructuring agreement with our lenders that will allow the bank to effectively execute its mandate and enhance its long-term financial sustainability. We also saw an increased uptake of the blended finance offering, which allowed the bank to re-enter the market in a meaningful way. WAS LAND BANK ABLE TO SUPPORT THE AGRICULTURE SECTOR’S GROWTH? Land Bank certainly supported growth in the agriculture sector, particularly with regard to developing farmers who have historically been largely excluded from the commercial sector or those whose participation in…

NWK, the oldest agribusiness in South Africa, was able to allocate more than R4 million during the 2023/24 financial year to the improvement of the lives of communities in its operating area. Johan Bezuidenhout, group manager of corporate marketing and communication at NWK, says the funds were invested with enormous appreciation for the communities in which the company operates. “No company functions in isolation, and our company needs the communities in which it operates to thrive in order to be successful itself,” he says. ‘THIS PROJECT ADDS VALUE TO THE LIVES OF CHILDREN AND IT CREATES TRUST BETWEEN COMMUNITIES’ According to Bezuidenhout, service delivery in the rural areas of North West is deteriorating at an alarming rate, and many of the municipalities are unable to fulfil their mandates in this…

Certain apple trees naturally develop into what producers farmers refer to as ‘spurtype’ varieties, which are compact, produce higher yields, and are valued by farmers for their reduced maintenance requirements. Despite their importance, the genetic basis of this trait remained unclear until recently. An international research team has created the first complete genetic blueprint of the Fuji apple, distinguishing genes inherited from each parent plant. They studied 74 different Fuji apple varieties and found that changes in the tree’s DNA over its lifetime, called somatic variations, lead to traits like spur-type growth, which is ideal for tough conditions such as poor soil and drought. The key to this growth habit lies in a gene called MdTCP11. In spur-type apples, a small DNA change near this gene makes it more active,…

CANDIED GAMMON YOU WILL NEED: 1 gammon Seasoning of your choice (I prefer Six Gun Grill Seasoning) Mustard For the glaze Treacle sugar Mixed spice Whisky Butter Mustard METHOD: • Score the fat side of the gammon, making sure not to cut all the way down to the meat. • Rub the seasoning and mustard into the meat. (This can be done immediately or the night before.) • Prep the smoker with wood chips or chunks and get it up to temperature (130°C to 140°C). • Place gammon into a foil container and smoke on a low heat for about one hour or until it’s internal temperature is around 57°C. (If you don’t have a smoker, a Weber-like braai will do. Just cook the gammon at a low temperature…

This article showed that if you interact with your pigs, your sows will be happy and their piglets will have better growth. If you keep pigs, it will pay you to be friendly with them. The personal touch means bigger profits, according to research carried out by Dr Martin Seabrook at the University of Nottingham, England. He says: “In a smaller unit it is possible to know all the animals individually, but even then the time for interaction with each animal is short and the working day is hectic. But this doesn’t mean you should not try to relate to your animals.” The research compared the growth rate of four houses of piglets and their sows’ behavioural patterns under different conditions. Each house consisted of eight batches of piglets with…

Global agriculture faced a notable shortage of labour in 2024, as described by Jessi Sletten, vice-president at CHS Inc, a US-based agribusiness co-operate that employs 10 000 people worldwide. Sletten told World-Grain.com that a smaller labour pool in rural areas around the world was having a negative impact on the sector, as well as new entrants not keeping pace with the number of retirements in the industry. According to World-Grain.com, around 1,23 billion people were employed in agriculture in 2019. “Asia accounts for the largest number of people employed in agrifood systems at 793 million, followed by Africa at 290 million,” World-Grain.com reported. “Agriculture labour shortages are leading to real economic losses, as well as damaging morale and adding to the stress of current employees. Possible solutions include relying more…

‘Disastrous’ is how the fresh produce industry in South Africa has labelled US president-elect Donald Trump’s intention to slap a 100% import duty on products from the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) countries should the bloc introduce its own currency. In a tweet, Trump stated: “The idea that BRICS are trying to move away from the dollar while we stand by and watch is over. We require a commitment that they will neither create a new BRICS currency nor back any other currency to replace the mighty US dollar, or they will face 100% tariffs”. Should such tariffs become a reality, they would adversely affect South Africa’s fresh produce exports. “Not only would exports to the US become unfeasible, but it would send shockwaves across the global…

Speculation by the US Embassy in Pretoria that South Africa could import approximately 800 000t of maize in the May 2024 to April 2025 marketing year doesn’t necessarily imply a maize shortage in South Africa. This was according to Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist at Agbiz. “The speculation created confusion, with people asking whether South Africa had sufficient maize supplies. This is a fair question, especially if one considers that maize prices, in recent months, have surged, with white maize trading at about R6 300/t and yellow maize at more than R4 000/t. Such price levels would support the view of those worried about maize supplies in South Africa,” he said in a Mail & Guardian report. However, Sihlobo added that South Africa did not suffer from a shortage of maize,…

Throughout the year, price pressures were felt across the meat complex as consumers’ incomes remained under strain due to high inflation and elevated interest rates. The annual consumer inflation began to slow in the second half of 2024, dipping significantly from 5,3% in January to 2,8% in October. As a result, the Monetary Policy Committee cut interest rates by a cumulative 50 basis points by November. Although the rate cuts were delayed and not as large as initially expected at the start of the year, they are anticipated to provide some relief to consumers by easing their financial pressures. However, this happens within the context of the ongoing risks to inflation and the exchange rate. BEEF After last year’s festive season price spike, beef prices settled at around the R55/kg…

A PASSION FOR BEES AND WOMEN EMPOWERMENT 15 March Many people underestimate the value of bees, but here at Farmer’s Weekly, we have a particular love for these tiny little farmworkers. Their value in farming cannot be overestimated, and the continued protection and appreciation of these pollinators is essential for long-term sustainable production. Elizabeth Lamond’s venture into agriculture was driven by her passion for bees. She owns a small piece of land in Marquard in the Free State. When she bought her land 17 years ago, it wasn’t big enough to farm conventionally, so she began her own beekeeping business instead. She currently offers foraging services to farmers, and produces and sells her own raw honey. She is also passionate about inspiring other women to enter the beekeeping industry. Her…

We are emerging from a challenging year of harsh midsummer drought, which devastated summer crops; widespread animal disease, which added pressure to the livestock industry; and higher interest rates, which increased the cost of capital in this heavily indebted sector. These factors all meant the South African agricultural gross value added and the sector’s fortunes probably contracted in 2024. Still, the farming community remained resilient, and the horticulture subsector thrived, benefitting from better water levels in dams and stable energy supplies. Fortunately, the collaborative work of industry and the government is also paying off in controlling the spread of animal diseases. By the start of the last quarter of 2024, we received the positive news that foot-and-mouth disease, a major challenge for the livestock industry, had been cleared in most…

Dear Prof McCrindle, I farm indigenous hens and produce eggs. With the recent heavy rain, some of the feed I mix for the chickens got wet and I lost 30 hens. The vet said it was due to aflatoxins. What are they and why are they killing my hens? Kind regards, Christina, Gauteng Dear Christina, Mouldy feed is mainly often due to a fungal organism called Aspergillus flavus, which grows on crops when the weather is hot and conditions are damp. This fungus causes liver failure and death in humans and farm animals, including poultry. When the outbreak starts, the first signs are usually lack of condition in the birds. The percentage of eggs also slowly decreases. Over time, the level of aflatoxins in the chicken feed accumulates and will…

Early in the year it was indicated in this column that 2024 would be important among other things for the fact that half of the world’s population would hold elections. Here I will look at common trends among the important elections. In 2025 there will not be that many elections but the political developments in Germany, Australia, Canada, Ireland, Argentina and Tanzania will be followed with interest. The elections that attracted the most attention during 2024 were: • The British election held in July, due to the Labour Party’s landslide victory over the Conservative Party. • The French parliamentary election in June and July moved to the right of the political spectrum in the first round, but in the second round, political parties to the left consolidated and were victorious.…

The 2024 wildfire season in South Africa has been the country’s worst in nearly a decade, with the lives of 34 people, 19 of whom were firefighters, lost to the flames by October. KwaZulu-Natal alone recorded 15 fatalities. Countrywide, over 3,9 million hectares were scorched, 66 buildings and 22 vehicles destroyed, and more than 2 000 livestock animals were lost. In October, Mpumalanga, the hardest-hit province, declared a fire disaster, with damage recorded at an estimated R21 billion. Speaking to Farmer’s Weekly, Linton Rensburg, team leader for stakeholder relations at the Working on Fire (WoF) Kishugu Joint Venture, said between the beginning of January and 2 December 2024, they responded to a staggering 2 436 fire incidents across the country. “Our response strategy had to be expanded significantly to cope…

Concern about the state of the global environment has been growing since the late 1970s. In 1979, the first world climate conference took place. In 1988, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was set up by the UN. The panel consists of scientists in various working groups, and it published its first report in 1990. The second IPCC report (1995) provided the scientific background for the Kyoto Protocol that was adapted by the UN in 1996 but was only implemented in 2005. Countries committed themselves to limit and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to individual levels set out in the protocol. South Africa ratified the Kyoto Protocol in 2002. The UN established the Conference of the Parties (COP) as the main decision-making body for the UN Framework Convention on…

Agricultural leaders and other role players look back on 2024 and share their hopes for the new year. PROF DRIEKIE FOURIE, AGRICULTURAL WRITERS SA AGRICULTURIST OF THE YEAR 2024 Dedication, passion, long days, and a love for agriculture drive success WHAT STOOD OUT FOR YOU IN 2024? Research and development are my main focus as a product biologist at Syngenta. In this capacity, I assist producers and the wider industry to reduce pest and disease populations in their crop fields to enable sustainable production. I’ve been actively involved in research projects at Syngenta, focusing on soil health and the sustainability of a new-generation nematicide product. I’ve also been involved in the evaluation of various new seed treatment products. This work is critical in addressing pests and diseases, helping to mitigate…

The poultry industry dealt decisively with serious challenges in 2023 and 2024, ranging from highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) and the use of vaccines to water supply disruptions, load-shedding, poor service delivery, soaring input costs, and trade disputes. The challenges, nevertheless, had a material impact on the industry, which is now also in a precarious position in 2024 and 2025 because of the impact of infrastructure failure, load-shedding, cost burden increases, the poor economic climate, consumer spending being under pressure, companies having to absorb rising costs, and profit margins being eroded. The poor position consumers are in should be addressed by exempting all frozen bone-in portions and fresh and frozen offal from value added tax. Earlier in 2024, the Western Cape High Court ordered the Department of Agriculture to compensate…

When Anton Rabe, managing director of Hortgro, came up with the idea for Agri’s Got Talent, he wanted it to be more than just a singing competition. Instead, he wanted it to be a platform that empowered farmworkers by giving them the opportunity to shine and showcase their diverse talents. The competition and life skills programme has since become a highlight of the agricultural calendar, with contestants being good enough to compete in the top 10 of any international talent show. More importantly, the platform is succeeding in changing the lives of the participants, allowing them to become more effective in their families, communities, and jobs, and shining a light on the value of farmworkers in South Africa. UNLOCKING NEW OPPORTUNITIES This year’s winner, Chester Fisch, wowed the crowd with…

Dr Guy Witney, project manager at Great Brak Avos in Mossel Bay, Western Cape, says avocados likely originated from the mountainous rainforests straddling Mexico and Guatemala. Today, wild avocados are found in the coastal tropical lowlands and mountainous highlands of Central and South America. Avocados were probably introduced to South Africa by Dutch settlers coming from the West Indies between 1652 and 1700. “Interestingly, in some parts of South Africa, large, low-oil fruit from West Indian seedling trees, often referred to as ‘butter avocados’, are still common backyard trees and are preferred over higher-quality Mexican-Guatemalan hybrid avocado varieties introduced later from California,” he explains. HASS AND FUERTE Between 1932 and 1938, the first experimental avocado cultivar evaluation block was planted by the then department of agriculture near Mbombela, then known…