Dedicated mentorship helps achieve maize success
David Matobako, an ambitious young farmer, is proving that agricultural reform is not an idle dream. Susan Botes-Marais visited him on his Free State farm and saw how a sound...
From manual labourer to managing partner
Erik Phinallephe (55) was born and raised in Stellenbosch and started working as a general farm labourer when he was only 12.
Chance opportunity breeds future success
Thorn Park trading store began farming chickens 19 years ago after fortune walked through the door – literally. Now raising in excess of 10 000 chickens, the enterprise is proving...
Prepare for climate change
According to various climate change models, the average temperature in South Africa will increase by 2°C within the next 40 years and by as much as 6°C within the next...
A lucrative market option for macadamias
The market for macadamias is growing. According to Martin van der Merwe of Sabie Valley Macadamias in Hazyview, Mpumalanga, the Chinese market alone has the capacity to absorb 100 000t...
The success of People First Piggery co-operative
Hard work and tenacity have turned a tiny enterprise into a flourishing commercial operation.
The basics of hands-on dairy training
Your Future Dairy Training offers aspiring farmers hands-on and practical training.
Empowerment in the Kalahari
In the semi-arid region of the Kahalari, under the desert sun, the Berekisanang farming project is bustling with activity. Jaco Visser reports on this citrus and table grape farm.
Beira corridor: The good, the bad & the promising
The Mozambique government has committed itself to unlocking the enormous agricultural potential of the Beira corridor, but progress has been slow – and costly.
Transformation will only come through facing hard facts
‘Don’t romanticise small-scale farming’ was the message at the recent Potatoes South Africa symposium held to discuss speeding up black economic empowerment through partnerships.
From cashier to award-winning beef farmer
Pinky Buthelezi never dreamt that leaving rural KwaZulu-Natal for Gauteng in 2000 would result in her receiving the ARC’s 2013 Gauteng Emerging Beef Farmer award. Mike Burgess visited her on...
How emerging farmers can handle price risk
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange offers the futures contract and the put option. Either can provide small-scale maize farmers with peace of mind. The JSE’s Raphael Karuaihe explains.
