News

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.

Nationwide sales of tractors and combine harvesters have remained under pressure for the first quarter of 2019.

The financial sector has been asked to endeavour to develop a more "compassionate" approach for the financing of new farmers.

Agriculture lawmakers in the EU voted last week to push for new definitions for meat products in upcoming negotiations with the European Commission and EU government to reform the EU’s 59-billion- euro-a-year (about R937 billion) farm policy.

Grain SA received 425 new applications for exhibition space for the 2019 Nampo Harvest Day, which was taking place from 14 to 17 May.

The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) called on Western Cape farmers to conduct regular checks of their lands after “high numbers” of fall armyworm (FAW) moths were detected in the province.

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 resumption of heat-treated ostrich meat exports to the EU will help ease the pressure that South African ostrich farmers have experienced in recent years.

CropLife SA has released an emergency eradication plan for the invasive weed Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri), which can result in almost total crop failure in maize.

Finding solutions to the challenge of financing farmers during drought has become extremely difficult.

The per capita consumption of dairy products has surged in China in recent years due to that country’s growing economy, which has resulted in an increase in the living standards of the general population.

Grain SA has urged farmers to continue scouting for crop pests such as caterpillars on their lands. The commodity organisation said in a statement released on Thursday that delayed plantings of maize across much of the western and central maize belt in South Africa had been a major concern for growers this season.

Producer-owned apple and pear packing and storage business in the Elgin district, Two-a-Day Group, recently donated more than R500 000 to the Agri Western Cape drought relief fund.

Diversified agriculture and forestry company TWK Investment Ltd has announced a 4,3% increase in its revenue from R3,7 billion to R3,9 billion for the six months ended 28 February 2019.

EU member states have voted to ban the use of the active ingredient chlorothalonil in fungicides, a move that agricultural industry role players say will leave crops particularly vulnerable to disease.

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.

Despite having lost its foot-and-mouth disease (FMD)-free status in January 2019, South African authorities have negotiated the resumption of trade in livestock products between the country and a number of export destinations.

Farmers in the dairy, poultry and egg industries in Canada were awarded CAD3,9 billion (about R42 billion) in income-protection funding during the country’s latest budget tabled by Finance Minister Bill Morneau in the House of Commons in Ottawa last week.

There has been mixed reaction to the newly implemented soya levy from industry role players, due to concerns among farmers about profitability as a result of the ongoing drought.

Heavy rainfall across the Missouri River and Mississippi River basins has ravaged much of the US Midwest this week