Africa

South Africa's agricultural trade with its neighbouring countries has faced significant challenges over the past few years, particularly with import restrictions imposed on the country by Namibia and Botswana.

Zimbabwe is to conduct its first National Agricultural and Livestock Census (NALC) since the country’s independence in 1980, with the support of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

High-ranking rhino horn trafficker, Francis Kipampa of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, recently received an 18-year prison sentence for money laundering offences related to rhino poaching.

At the beginning of January 2025, Zimbabweans faced worsening food shortages due to delayed rains and the ongoing effects of drought.

The United Nations World Food Programme welcomed a donation of R90 million from the government of Japan to support 37 000 smallholder farmers wrestling with the effects of climate challenges in five districts in Zimbabwe.

Investments in agrifoodtech in Africa is showing a slight recovery after crashing from a peak of over US$700 million (about R12,7 billion) in funding in 2022 to US$275 million (R5 billion) in 2023.

Zimbabwe has, since the beginning of November, harvested a record 518 502t of wheat from 106 230ha. A total of 119 594ha were planted to wheat this year compared with 91 000ha in the previous season, when a crop of 465 546t was achieved.

Calle Schlettwein, Namibia's Minister of Agriculture, Water, and Land Reform, recently called for agriculture to be recognised as a national priority and for resources to be allocated accordingly.

The Zimbabwean Tobacco Industry Marketing Board (TIMB) recently announced a number of sustainability measures aimed at minimising the negative impact of tobacco production on the environment. This includes land clearing.

Zimbabwe recently confirmed its intension to cull 200 elephants to feed communities facing acute hunger following the worst drought that country had seen in four decades.

Beef exports from Botswana to the EU will in future depend largely on adherence to the EU’s Deforestation Regulation that will become effective on 1 January 2025.

The agreement recently concluded between Zimbabwe and China in terms of the exportation of avocados to China created a significant opportunity for Zimbabwe to take advantage of the vast Chinese market. This was according to Linda Nielsen, CEO of the Zimbabwean Horticultural Development Council (HDC).

The Namibian government recently announced a plan to cull wild animals and to distribute the meat to food-insecure people because of the severe drought in the country.

The largest part of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region could expect normal to above-normal rainfall between October and December 2024, according to a recent statement by the 29th Southern Africa Regional Climate Outlook Forum (SARCOF-29). The forum members met from 26 to 28 August in Harare, Zimbabwe.

Speaking at the recent annual Kulumba Traditional Ceremony of the Chewa people of Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia, held in Zambia, Malawian Minister of Local Government, Unity and Culture, Richard Chimwendo Banda said climate change posed a serious threat to his country and its people.

The Zimbabwe government’s latest announcement regarding compensation for land lost by white farmers during the land reform process in the 2000s was nothing but propaganda, according to Saai chairperson Dr Theo de Jager.

Namibia’s Minister of Agriculture, Water, and Land Reform, Calle Schlettwein, recently announced that the government had authorised the construction of a second desalination plant.

Zimbabwe's finance minister, Mthuli Ncube, announced a downward revision of the country's economic growth forecast for 2024 due to Southern Africa’s worst drought in decades, which has severely impacted crop yields.

The BXB, crossbred from Braunvieh and Brahman cattle, will add value to virtually any beef production concern in Southern Africa, according to Auroa Braunvieh owners Lourens and Henriette Le Grange, who pioneered the BXB in Namibia. They attribute this to the combination of both breeds’ outstanding traits.

Namibia has been battling severe drought conditions since 2012, with the past few years proving especially dire. Although there have been occasional years of good rainfall, most have seen extreme dryness and minimal precipitation.