Empowerment

The moringa tree is being touted as the ideal biodiesel crop for communities farming on marginal soils, writes Robyn Joubert.

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 profit in the first production cycle after Red Crest Farms, one of the biggest commercial broiler producers in the region, took over the management of the project,

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. So successful is this enterprise that its 30 current members' yield for this season is worth an estimated R72 million.

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 executive committee member of the SA Pump Manufacturer’s Association.

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 instance, small-scale broiler farmers simply can't supply demand, resulting in some truly profitable businesses and ambitious expansions.

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 riders. As Greg Miles reports, the race demands much of both horse and rider.

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 is shaping up as a model the rest of the country could learn from. But as Stephan Hofstätter found out, red tape threatens to spoil the party.

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. Massive pollution of the upper Olifants River is now decanting throughout eastern Gauteng, and even neighbouring provinces. Susan Botes reports on a crisis that not only threatens farmers.

A heated debate took place at the Indwe police station between police, Emalahleni municipal officials and farmers from Indwe and Dordrecht.

Robyn Joubert visited Hanbury Chickens, a family-run broiler business in KwaZulu- Natal. Modest and efficient, the Hanburys use modern methods to get the most out of their birds - guaranteeing their customers affordable, high-quality chickens.

As it made way for the sprawling croplands of the Western Cape, renosterveld became synonymous with agricultural non-productivity, earning itself names like uitvalgrond. But, as Odette Curtis writes, this shrinking habitat, rich in plant and animal life found nowhere else in the world, should be conserved as it affords farmers unique ecotourism opportunities.

In 1994 Sizwe Manjezi acquired some 900ha near Peddie in the Eastern Cape to expand his family tradition of cattle farming. Even though he's at the helm of a respected Bonsmara stud today, he's still struggling to obtain a title deed from the Eastern Cape Department of Land Affairs. Mike Burgess tells how this farmer went from communal to commercial against all odds.

Feeling let down by government policing efforts, a group of farmers in rural KwaZulu-Natal have established their own innovative and successful system to fight stock theft between the province and neighbouring Lesotho. Lloyd Phillips braved chilly weather and very rough roads to bring you this report.

In South Africa's rural areas children have alarmingly low levels of vitamin A, which can result in infections, blindness and even death. To combat this critical deficiency, researchers suggest the cultivation of the beta-carotene-enriched, orange-fleshed sweet potato, which is hardy and well adapted to South African conditions, thus making it ideal for cultivation in poor rural areas. Cornelia du Plooy reports.

Dieter Sellmeyer of Lynx Wines, a small boutique winery near ­Franschhoek, believes CDs are for the birds - ­metaphorically, not ­literally.

The Popela judgment by the Constitutional Court is probably the most important legal benchmark in land reform law since the Richtersveld ruling in 2004. It has widened the definition of restitution and lent legal clarity to previously grey areas like the definition of a community, and the strength and scope of customary land rights. Stephan Hofstätter unpacks the implications.

Some 32 000 hectares of land worth R1 billion was officially handed over recently to four communities as part of the Greater Tenbosch land claim in Mpumalanga's deep rural Nkomazi area.

Land claims on the world heritage site, Greater St Lucia Wetland Park (GSLWP) in northern Zululand, are being settled quickly and amicably between affected parties.

Over 50% of all stock in the Eastern Cape belong to communal farmers, which is why efforts are being made to absorb these animals into mainstream marketing channels and to enable cultural producers to compete successfully in this intricate market.

With the option of buying a controlling share in Kanhym Estates, one of South Africa's most successful agribusinesses, empowerment consortium Kgomo Kgolo seems to have done a good job in allaying any fears the estate's management might have had about AgriBEE. Today Khehla Mthembu is non-executive chairperson of Kanhym Estates and, as Susan Botes reports, the business is more bullish than ever about its prospects.