News

As the festive season approaches, there may be a looming challenge on the horizon: potential increases in poultry prices. This was according to the Association of Meat Importers and Exporters of Southern Africa (AMIE).

South Africa’s agriculture sector has reason to celebrate World Aids Day today, rather than just commemorate it. HIV-positive cases have declined over the last few years as a result of awareness campaigns and access to treatment on farms.

Summer is in full swing in South Africa with rising temperatures and rain showers. This make for ideal conditions for snakes to become more active, according to Johan Marais, CEO of the African Snakebite Institute.

Thousands of tons of fresh produce worth an estimated R10 million is rotting on the Johannesburg Fresh Market floor as the premises has been without electricity since Saturday.

Vodacom South Africa and the World Wide Fund for Nature South Africa (WWF SA) recently teamed up to pilot the use of a technology to safeguard marine mammals against entanglement.

El Niño-induced dry weather conditions in India and Thailand, the second- and third-largest sugar exporters worldwide, are resulting in the highest prices for the commodity since 2011, with global sugar reserves hitting a 14-year low.

For years, people have been talking about Africa’s potential to improve global food security. Various role-players at the Africa Agri Investment Indaba, recently held in Cape Town, talked about how this can be achieved.

A few isolated cases of fowl pox have been reported in South Africa over the past few weeks. However, authorities say there is no need for panic as the virus was not likely to spread and could be managed through vaccination and good hygiene.

The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development is urging consumers not to resort to panic buying eggs.

The Kalahari Red sire ‘Sta Soft’ (777-20-051), bred and sold by Bushra Stud in Botswana, recently fetched a record price of R165 000 (BWP120 000) at the annual Trifecta Elite Sale held at the National Agriculture Showground in Sebele.

The Soil Science Society of South Africa (SSSSA) celebrates its platinum jubilee this year, making it one of the oldest soil science societies in the world.

Africa should collaborate and share knowledge on agriculture best practices to nurture the aquaculture industry for enhanced and sustainable food security, says Zambia’s fisheries and livestock minister Makozo Chikote.

Grain SA chairperson Derek Mathews has welcomed the appointment of Dr Tobias Doyer as chief executive officer of the organisation, describing him as the ideal choice.

The recent suspension of Irish beef exports to China has been described as a blow to the industry. Ireland’s national public service media organisation, RTÉ, reported that beef exports from Ireland to China had been suspended after a case of atypical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was detected in a cow.

The agriculture sector in South Africa continues to show its strength creating 61 000 new jobs in the third quarter of 2023.

Namibian livestock producers called on that country’s government to seriously consider the creation of two Meatco entities that would service producers north and south of Namibia’s veterinary cordon fence (VCF) as two independent subsidiaries.

Various articles were published in the media over the past week that made it sound as if government had published “new rules” in the Government Gazette that would force farmers to meet black economic empowerment (BEE) requirements to continue exports to Europe.

The latest export inspection data in the US indicates that wheat shipments from that country reached a 52-year low in the first week of November.

In spite of the limiting impact of the ever-decreasing national vineyard surface area, isolated cases of frost and extensive flood damage in some regions, the wine industry is optimistic about the new season’s potential, according to Rico Basson, CEO of South African Wine.

Zambia remains one of the main exporters of maize in Africa, following sustained output of the country’s staple food in recent years spurred by input subsidies, despite some climate change effects, invasion of pests, erratic rains, post-harvest losses and frustrated production in recent years.