News

A state of natural disaster has been declared in parts of France after severe storms hit the south-east of the country on Saturday, devastating crops and killing two people while injuring a further 10.

In his second State of the Nation Address this year, to be delivered in Parliament on Thursday evening, President Cyril Ramaphosa it is expected to present a plan to address South Africans needs for the year ahead.

A collaboration agreement to safeguard water and soil resources, while fighting desertification, was signed by the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and the New Development Bank (NDB) on Monday to coincide with the UN’s World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought.

The EU recently launched a US$45 million (about R665,9 million) programme to support the growth of Zimbabwe’s livestock sector.

Wool growers in Lesotho, who had not received an income since March 2018, are now selling their stock to slaughter markets in a desperate attempt to survive.

The 2019 Agribusiness Africa Conference, hosted by South Africa’s largest English language agricultural publication, Farmer’s Weekly, will bring together top speakers and a range of stakeholders from across the agriculture, agribusiness and trade platforms to delve into the dynamics of trade between farm gate and domestic, regional and international markets.

Millions of locusts have invaded the Italian island of Sardinia, with the province of Nuoro the worst hit.

Mice and worm infestations in crops in the Swartland have been causing serious damage, with the cost of preventative measures and replanting already running into millions of rand.

The Nile Delta in northern Egypt, one of the largest river deltas in the world, is under threat from a rapidly increasing population, climate change, and poor management of garbage and sewage pollution.

The forecast for this year’s maize harvest in Zimbabwe is 776 600t, which was 54% lower than the 2018 output of 1,7 million tons.

A combination of “unsurprising” factors was creating negative sentiment among buyers, which resulted in the market for tractors and combine harvesters in South Africa not having a good year so far.

A gap has been created for pork imports onto the Chinese market due to the African swine flu epidemic currently sweeping across the country, which had resulted in the pork output in that country declining between 20% and 30%.

The Carbon Tax Act that was recently signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa, and came into effect on 1 June, could create opportunities for the local agriculture sector to invest in environmentally friendly practices and reduce its carbon footprint.

Venezuela has been exporting large quantities of cocoa in recent months, as it is the one commodity in that country not yet subject to US sanctions.

Every year 420 000 people die, while 600 million fall ill around the world as a result of consuming unsafe food, according to the UN’s World Health Organization.

It has been estimated that the recent foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in South Africa could cost the red meat value chain as much as R10 billion.

A large proportion of the air pollution that plagues many parts of the world is the result of intensive agricultural operations such as livestock farming.

Output by the agriculture sector contracted 13,2% quarter-on-quarter in the first three months of 2019, thus contributing to overall negative economic growth of 3,2% for South Africa over this period.

Up to 90 000ha of crops planted mainly to maize and sugar cane in 18 provinces, regions and municipalities across China have now been infested with fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda).

Corteva Agriscience is aiming to introduce advanced crop hybrids and crop protection products that will enable farmers in Africa to improve their productivity, income and lives.