News

Lockdown restrictions in many countries around the world due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) global pandemic have resulted in the growing trend of people growing fruit and vegetables at home.

Opportunities exist for farmers and agro-processors to enter the small, but growing paprika market in South Africa.

With US dairy farmers forced to dump thousands of litres of unprocessed raw milk daily amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, farm level milk prices for 2020 is expected to decline sharply.

The widespread negative socio-economic impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic globally is likely to include a 2,6% to 7% contraction in sub-Saharan Africa’s agricultural production.

It is still uncertain how the lockdown for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and depreciation of the rand will impact farm input prices.

In this first episode of our special coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic podcast series, Farmer’s Weekly editor, Denene Erasmus, gives an update on how the publication has adapted to keep readers up to date with news and information relevant to the sector, and the public at large, during this critical period.

Investing in research and marketing for the dragon fruit industry is needed for this sector to realise its potential in terms of job creation and offering a feasible investment for small-scale farmers.

South Africa’s wine industry will be allowed to export finished goods, both packaged and bulk, during the remainder of the lockdown period which was aimed at containing the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

The deaths of nine farmworkers in a road accident on the N1 between Touws River and De Doorns have sent shockwaves through the agricultural community.

Over the past week, Western Cape farmers have donated tons of fresh produce to FoodForward SA, a non-profit organisation assisting communities experiencing food shortages during the lockdown for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) global pandemic.

Countries rallying to ensure local food supply are restricting exports amid uncertainty over how long the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) global pandemic will last and continue to affect trade.

If it spreads further afield, the African armyworm [Spodoptera exempta (Walker)] outbreak in KwaZulu-Natal’s (KZN) Nkandla and Msinga areas could be the final nail in the coffin for many livestock farmers in the province.

For the foreseeable future, South African garlic lovers will have to accept dramatically increased prices for their favourite food flavouring until delays in international logistics are smoothed out.

Disaster relief support for the Northern Cape has ground to a halt since the lockdown for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic came into effect.

Smallholder and communal farmers with an annual turnover of between R20 000 and R1 million will be able to apply for financial support grants from the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (agriculture department) from Wednesday, 8 April.

South Africa’s top dairy products were recently honoured at the Agri-Expo Qualité Awards, which this year took the form of a virtual ceremony held as part of the South African Dairy Championships.

South Africa is forecast to increase raisin exports by 8% to 64 600t in the 2019/2020 marketing year, up from 59 000t in 2018/2019, based on the increase in production and improved global demand, according to Ferdie Botha, general manager at Raisins South Africa.

The African Development Bank has approved more than R28 million in emergency relief funding to assist nine countries in East Africa and the Horn of Africa to control vast swarms of desert locusts.

South Africa’s national lockdown aimed at reducing the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) global pandemic is already taking its toll on farmers.

Any perceived shortage of toilet paper in retail stores can be ascribed to a consumer behavioural issue rather than a production issue.