Rift Valley fever
This highly contagious disease originated in the Rift Valley of East Africa, and occurred for the first time in South Africa during the 1950's.
‘I couldn’t let my family starve while I had two hands and a brain’
After losing his job four years ago, textile worker Mike Moloto set out to provide for his family by starting a farming operation. Initially, things were tough, but he made...
Growing groundnuts
Groundnuts is a drought-toleraGroundnuts are rich in protein and can be eaten raw, cooked or roasted. The upright types are mostly cultivated under drier conditions, while the runner kinds are...
Newcastle disease (NCD)
is a serious poultry disease and can affect any kind of poultry operation, from backyard production to large commercial poultry farms.
Understanding cash flow and expenditure
It's very upsetting knowing you have to pay an account when you don't know where the money is going to come from. That's why keeping track of your expenses is...
Another one bites the dust
Some 13 years after the Tafelkop Farmers Association "invaded" an unused irrigation scheme in Groblersdal, they still haven't acquired the title deeds promised to them by the then minister of...
Ngunis go commercial
After 25 years of trading and farming in Elliotdale in the former Transkei, Zolani Tyali eventually settled on Brooklyn, a commercial farm near Morgan’s Bay in the Eastern Cape. He...
Mushrooms: income for the poor
Poverty alleviation and improved food security in KwaZulu-Natal has found an ally in the tasty and sought-after oyster mushroom. With help from the Chinese government, KwaDindi residents are now diversifying...
Extension officer turned emerging farmer
Bone Mokomele is an emerging farmer who served as an extension officer for the agriculture department for more than 10 years. A land restitution beneficiary, he farms wheat near Brits...
No land for this promising pig farmer
Ivan Cloete started farming with pigs in Blackheath near Cape Town seven years ago.
Farming one herd: answer to communal poverty?
Getting communal cattle farming to work has always been difficult, as many farmers refuse to cooperate. But the Vuvha community in Venda has found that sharing resources and managing all...
Moringa: A tree for all seasons
The moringa tree is being touted as the ideal biodiesel crop for communities farming on marginal soils, writes Robyn Joubert.
Saving a community’s chicken farm
A six-year-old, municipal-funded, community-based broiler project near East London in the Eastern Cape has struggled to survive due to poor management and chronic theft. But it achieved a R26 000...
Grooming SA farmers for European markets
A Danish businessman's tenacity and the commitment of a group of local emerging farmers have built up a thriving commercial business that enables its producers to compete on European markets....
Irrigation Focus-Pumps
Pumps: expert advice on solving problems before they start. Good selection, good maintenance and proper installation are all equally important to pump life, says Bob Mackie of APE pumps and...
Broilers transform Keiskammahoek
Despite its pastoral traditions of extensive cattle farming, profitable agriculture in the former homelands is today often the result of intensification. In the Keiskamma area of the former Ciskei for...
200km, three days
The largest endurance ride in the world is held each year in the small Free State town of Fauresmith. The 34th championship in July drew a record entry of 376...
Hoedspruit land claim: coming to fruition
Collapsed land reform farms are depressingly common in South Africa, but in Marulaneng (Hoedspruit) claimants and farmers have teamed up and their fruit estates are flourishing. In fact, the district...
Prelude to a disaster Loskop Dam goes toxic
Mining pollution threatens to turn Loskop Dam into the largest toxic acid lake in Africa, as decades of coal mining on the Mpumalanga Highveld starts to catch up with us....
Emalahleni by-laws to tame killer dogs
A heated debate took place at the Indwe police station between police, Emalahleni municipal officials and farmers from Indwe and Dordrecht.
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