News

As local sugar cane farmers face rising sugar imports and global market pressures, the industry prepares for Phase 2 of the Sugarcane Value Chain Master Plan. Speaking to Farmer’s Weekly, South African Sugar Association executives reflect on Phase 1 outcomes and outline next-phase priorities.

South Africa’s broiler industry is more competitive than the US’s, according to the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy’s (BFAP) new ‘Competitiveness of the South African Broiler Industry’ report, after investment under the Poultry Sector Master Plan strengthened its efficiency and global standing.

Zambia has suspended all imports of livestock and related animal products from South Africa with immediate effect, citing biosecurity concerns over the country’s escalating foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak.

A constrained economy and lack of business support could render President Cyril Ramaphosa’s proposed solutions to South Africa’s most pressing issues redundant, panellists said during a North-West University Business School webinar on the State of the Nation Address (SONA).

The 12th annual Lasarus Game Farm production auction was held on 7 February at the Dorsland Restaurant & Craft Bar in Modimolle, Limpopo. On offer was a wide selection of game, poultry, Meatmaster sheep, Cape Lob Ear goats, and Ankole cattle.

South Africa’s escalating foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak has now been formally classified as a national disaster under Section 23 of the Disaster Management Act (No. 57 of 2002).

Following a recent case of a farmer refusing state veterinarians access to his property, officials have emphasised farmers’ legal duties in foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) control zones and the need to co-operate with inspections.

The long-running business rescue of Tongaat Hulett Limited has reached a decisive turning point, with joint business rescue practitioners (BRPs) applying to the KwaZulu-Natal Division of the High Court to discontinue rescue proceedings and place the 134-year-old sugar producer into provisional liquidation.

The State of the Nation Address (SONA) 2026, delivered by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday evening in Cape Town, highlighted progress made in growing the economy and reducing unemployment, but numerous challenges still inhibit the country from achieving real change.

Ahead of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) tonight, Farmer’s Weekly spoke to various agriculture role players about the key issues and challenges facing the sector, and what they hope to hear in SONA 2026.

A foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in the Kuruman district of the Northern Cape has now been officially confirmed, marking a significant development in the ongoing national crisis.

Civil society organisation FairPlay has renewed its call for VAT-free chicken ahead of Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s Budget speech later this month, saying zero-rating basic poultry products would be the fastest way to address food insecurity and child malnutrition in South Africa.

The export protocol allowing South African table grapes to be shipped to the Republic of Korea (South Korea) was finalised late last month, paving the way for exports to begin in the 2026/27 season.

Data from the Animal Feed Manufacturers Association (AFMA), the recognised representative body of South Africa’s formal animal feed industry, show that the industry entered a clear recovery phase in 2025 after contracting in 2024.

Building on the success of the International Year of Pulses in 2016, led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 10 February was designated as World Pulses Day, to be commemorated each year.

Organisers of South Africa’s largest agricultural exhibition have confirmed that no cloven-hoofed animals will be exhibited at the 2026 Nampo Harvest Day, scheduled for 12 to 15 May at Nampo Park in Bothaville in the Free State.

The Western Cape is on high alert following suspected and confirmed outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in three informal settlements and on one commercial dairy farm.

Government has hailed the Agricultural Research Council’s release of South Africa’s first locally produced foot-and-mouth disease vaccine on 6 February as a milestone, but industry experts say it is overdue and overlooks earlier opportunities to curb the escalating outbreak.

The Metropolitan Collective Shapers youth entrepreneurship programme officially announced its top 10 finalists for 2026 at its Impact Brunch in Sandton, Johannesburg, on 5 February, celebrating the initiative’s first-ever national rollout.

A recent Western Cape High Court ruling means farmers may, for the time being, purchase and use certain restricted agricultural remedies without being registered as pest control operators.