News

The agriculture sector has weathered the storm over the past few years, coping with drought and policy uncertainty, while income and employment have remained stable.

The closing of countries’ borders in an attempt to contain the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is already greatly affecting the local ecotourism sector.

Chinhoyi University of Technology, a university in Mashonaland West, Zimbabwe, recently took its national artificial insemination (AI) project for cattle countrywide.

The announcement on Thursday by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) monetary policy committee of a 100-basis-point cut, or one percentage point, in the repo rate from 6,25% to 5,25%, was positive news for farmers.

Stakeholders in the South African fruit industry have expressed concern about whether there will be sufficient containers to ship produce to various export destinations around the world, due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

Rising demand for agricultural products in Spain, due to fears about the novel coronavirus outbreak, has seen prices soar.

Southern Africa is expected to export a record 143,3 million cartons of citrus fruit to more than 100 countries in 2020.

While the latest tariffs on imported frozen chicken published in the Government Gazette have been welcomed by key stakeholders in South Africa’s poultry value chain, they are taking a wait-and-see approach to establish just how effective these tariffs would be in achieving their intended purpose.

One of the highlights on the South African agricultural calendar, the annual Royal Agricultural Show in Pietermaritzburg, has been cancelled.

The Zimbabwean government has announced a legal framework to restore ownership rights to individuals and companies that lost farms over the past 20 years, in terms of the Bilateral Investment Protection and Promotion Agreements.

The current rolling blackouts by power utility Eskom have struck the Western Cape in the midst of a critical time for the fruit industry.

The higher crop production forecast for the coming season has resulted in a rise in combine harvester sales during February, which could mean farmers are preparing for a good harvesting season.

The past several years’ drought in Namibia has had a devastating impact on the country’s hunting industry, and in some areas hunting quotas had been cut between 70% and 80%. This was according to Tanya Dahl, CEO of the Namibia Professional Hunting Association (NAPHA).

With approximately 65% of South Africa’s commercial pig herd now officially registered with the South African Pork Producers’ Organisation’s (SAPPO) compartmentalisation system, the local commercial herd is now one of the healthiest in the world.

Maize farmers have been urged to scout for Diplodia maize rot amongst their crops.

As the EU and the US recently resumed trade talks, the EU’s chief trade negotiator Phil Hogan said the region wanted to explore possibilities that would enable each side to reduce administrative obstacles to agricultural trade.

The drop in fuel prices that came into effect on Wednesday as a result of lower Brent crude oil prices, on the back of the fast-spreading coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak across the world, will provide some relief for farmers.

Any amendments to Section 25 of South Africa’s Constitution needed to prioritise the protection of the land rights of farm dwellers and those living on traditional authority lands.

South Africa’s agriculture sector has experienced two consecutive years of recession due, in large part, to the widespread drought on the production of field and certain horticulture crops.

For the first time in 20 years, the producer prices of small grains in Zimbabwe have been set higher than that of maize as a way of encouraging the growing of these crops.