Africa

The Zimbabwean government’s decision to compensate white commercial farmers who lost their land as part of former president Robert Mugabe’s land reform programme was precipitated by pressure from the international community, according to Dr Johan Willemse, independent agricultural economist.

A group of former commercial farmers in Zimbabwe recently lodged a R1,9 billion compensation claim against the South African government and presidency for presiding over the dissolution of the South African Development Community’s [SADC] regional human rights court, the SADC Tribunal.

If countries in Africa had biosafety risk assessment systems in place it would open up opportunities for trade in genetically modified (GM) crops on the continent.

Governments and international aid organisations are still trying to take stock of the full extent of the damage caused by Cyclone Idai, which recently tore through central Mozambique and parts of neighbouring Zimbabwe and Malawi, resulting in devastating flooding across the region.

The Namibian Dare to Care Disaster Fund is currently standing at R2,2 million. Ryno van der Merwe, president of the Namibian Agricultural Union (NAU), said the fund had made it possible to subsidise more than 40 000 bags of animal feed to date.

Solidaridad Network Trust, an international organisation working towards achieving sustainable regional production of agricultural commodities, has announced that it would be expanding its programme for smallholder sugar cane producers to other countries in Southern Africa.

The rise in global food insecurity is a serious cause for concern, given the ever increasing global population, especially on the African continent.

Danene van der Westhuyzen, president of the Namibia Professional Hunters’ Association (NAPHA), was recently elected to serve on the international organisation Dallas Safari Club’s (DSC) newly formed Conservation Advisory Board (CAB).

Red meat producers in Namibia are finding themselves in the midst of a perfect storm, due to relentless drought in that country and the outbreak of foot-and-mouth (FMD) disease in South Africa.

It is expected that the loss of the Lesotho wool and mohair clip, due to new legislation in that country, would have a negative impact on the bottom line of wool traders in South Africa.

The ruling party in Zimbabwe, Zanu-PF, has admitted that its "fast track" land redistribution programme, launched in 2000, was riddled with corruption and conflict over farm ownership.

Next year, Zimbabwe will pay US$53 million (R742 million) in compensation to white farmers whose farms were confiscated over the past 18 years and reallocated to black Zimbabweans.