Media release: Prevailing drought conditions
The late summer rains and high day-time temperatures after a dry previous season have resulted in a serious situation for both farmers and other role players in the food value chain who depend on agriculture’s purchase and supply capacity. It is already clear that...
Agri SA commentary on AGOA impasse
AGOA plays an important role in the economic development of the South African economy. Its associated benefits and concessions are of great value to a number of South Africa’s agricultural industries that have traded on a preferential basis with the United States. It...
Rooivleis gaan op die JSE verhandel
Rooivleis, spesifiek beesvleis, gaan in die toekoms op die JSE verhandel soos ander kommoditeite. Die Rooivleis Produsente Organisasie (RPO) verskaf boere met inligting oor die verhandeling, asook handelswenke oor wat die boer in gedagte moet hou. Verhandelingsopsies...
Stakeholders in Agribusiness meet on Drought Situation
Concerned major stakeholders from Organised Agriculture, Organised Agribusiness, the banking sector and government institutions met on 10 November 2015 to discuss the effect of the rapidly deteriorating drought situation in South Africa on the broader agriculture...
Day of Prayer for SA and agriculture
“Problems and obstacles are not unique to the country and the agricultural sector, but when drought conditions destroy nature and specifically animal life, as is currently the case, it touches everyone’s heart,” says Agri SA’s president, Johannes Möller. Agri SA has...
Public Private Partnerships address drought in SA
Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, 11 November 2015 – South African government, private sector and civil society comment on the national drought providing predictions and recommendations that may improve the situation. Public Private Partnerships needed to address...
SA bananas threatened by fungal disease
Altus Viljoen, a plant pathologist from the University of Stellenbosch, revealed that a fungal disease outbreak is spreading rapidly across 3 000 hectares of farmland in Mozambique. This Panama disease outbreak may pose a threat to South Africa’s R1.5bn banana...
Onbewustheid van landbou suksesverhale
Mnr. Mulco Manyama, belanghebbende verhoudingsdirektuer by AFGRI, en mnr. Henco de Jager, assistent-hoofbestuurder van menslike hulbronne by Senwes, voel dat meeste onbewus is van die suksesverhale in die landbou. Die regering stel beskikbaar goeie grond met beter...
Drought affecting futures of emerging black farmers
South Africa’s worst drought in two decades is tarnishing the dreams of emerging black commercial farmers and cutting into the wealth of small-scale farmers. The state’s response to the drought is politically crucial and could have a major impact on 2016’s local...
Loss of AGOA benefits will have wide agricultural impact
The United States is pressuring SA to open its poultry market to US imports, threatening to abolish the trade benefits that SA’s agricultural products enjoy under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa). This will have a wide impact on the agricultural sector as...
SA poultry association stand against US-AGOA threat
After the US threatened to suspend the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) benefits, one of the largest poultry producers in South Africa, the SA Poultry Association (Sapa), said that they should maintain their dominance in the market and have to protect the...
Crop failure could cost SA billions in imports
Crop failure caused by drought will have a multibillion-rand impact on the economy through an increased need for crop imports. Grain SA estimates that South Africa will have to import 770 000 tonnes of maize at R2.2bn until the end of April 2016, although the country...
Drought poses threat to food security
The government’s farming policies tend to focus much more on both land reform and redistribution, than on the agricultural and commercial side of farming. These issues have been below the policy makers’ radar screens. Two provinces have already been declared as in...
Seasonal Climate Watch (November 2015 – March 2016)
The South African Weather Service just released their seasonal climate watch, ranging from November 2015 to March 2016. Most models are showing the strengthening of an El-Niño episode towards the summer season with the expectation to continue throughout the autumn...
Free State and Northern Cape name top farmers
By Annelie Coleman SA Agricultural Writers’ central branch named Piet Karsten from Kanoneiland as the Northern Cape Farmer of the Year and Brian Angus from Arlington as the Free State Farmer of the Year at a gala event in Bloemfontein recently. Karsten is known as one...
Nick Vink speaks politics, agriculture and more
06:00 (GMT+2), Mon, 31 August 2015 One of the speakers at Agri Northern Cape's annual congress in August was Professor Nick Vink of Stellenbosch University's department of agricultural economics. OFM News' agri editor Sabrina Dean spoke to him about politics,...
Farmer’s Weekly agriculture news overview
18:37 (GMT+2), Fri, 28 August 2015 OFM News’ agri editor Sabrina Dean chats to Farmers’ Weekly journalist Gerhard Uys about some of the stories the team has been working on. They speak about the ongoing debate around hunting of lions, get a glimpse of some of the...
Challenges and prospects both highlighted at Agri NC Congress
23:46 (GMT+2), Wed, 19 August 2015 Kimberley - Government statements about the percentage of land in white ownership are a "blatant lie" as there is no way to know for sure until a land audit has been done. This is according to PWC Economic Advisor Roelof Botha during...
NCape agri community rocked by first farm murder of 2015
17:48 (GMT+2), Fri, 29 May 2015 Bloemfontein - The Northern Cape agriculture community is still reeling after news of the first farm murder in the province for the year broke on OFM News this morning. Police spokesperson Sergio Kock has confirmed that 64-year-old...
Kuruman killing, first farm murder in NC this year
12:30 (GMT+2), Fri, 29 May 2015 Kuruman - Last night's murder of a Kuruman farmer, is the first to occur on a Northern Cape farm this year. Agri Northern Cape’s General Manager, Henning Myburgh, says the province has been relatively untouched by crime of this nature...
Rural Development Minister acknowledges challenges in farming
Sunday 3 May 2015 20:48 SABC Rural Development Minister, Gugile Nkwinti, has acknowledged that there are challenges related to emerging farmers across the country. He held a meeting with discouraged emerging farmers, who have called on government for assistance,...
Pro-green N Cape farmers to contribute to national grid
Saturday 13 July 2013 17:25 Ulrich Hendriks Northern Cape farmers planning to switch to green energy say they can contribute electricity to the national grid when it is most needed. They say electricity costs have risen by an average of 35% in the last 8 years and...
Wool farmers plan to raise R500m in public share offering
KONSORTIUM Holdings on Wednesday said that its plans to raise R500m through a public offering of over-the-counter shares were motivated by the need to control the wool market in the country and beyond. South Africa produces 15-million kilograms of wool annually, of...
Agri Northern Cape is fed up
October 10 2007 at 01:55pm Continued accusations that commercial farmers were illegally evicting farm workers on a large scale should be investigated, the commercial farmer group Agri Northern Cape said on Wednesday. Agri Northern Cape president Wessels van der Merwe...