News

A different form of the avian influenza virus, known as the goose/Guangdong lineage, has wreaked havoc in the US poultry industry, with more than 47 million chickens and turkeys dying due to infections and being culled in this year's outbreak of the disease.

Developing smallholder citrus farmers in South Africa will continue to be hard-hit by the rising pressure of increasing input costs over the next few years. This was according to a statement by Justin Chadwick, CEO of the Citrus Growers’ Association of Southern Africa (CGA).

The South African Red Meat Producers’ Organisation (RPO) has welcomed the recent landmark agreement signed with Saudi Arabia to export between 500t and 1 000t of red meat per annum to that country from next year.

The macadamia industry has called 2022 a watershed year amid a perfect storm of challenges that has brought uncertainty to what has been a consistently high-performing industry.

Many farmers in the Northern Cape have been left in dire straits following wildfires that have devastated more than 300 000ha since August.

Nearly 100 000ha of grazing have already been destroyed in a wildfire that has been raging in the Great Karas Mountains in southern Namibia for the past four days.

Farmers in New Zealand have condemned the government’s proposed new levy aimed at taxing the greenhouse gasses that farm animals emit when burping and urinating.

The agriculture sector plays a critical role in the South African Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan. This was the message from President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered by the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Thoko Didiza, at the Agri SA Congress 2022 that got underway in Pretoria on Thursday (13 October).

Stakeholders in the agriculture sector have welcomed the establishment of South Africa’s new National Biosecurity Hub.

The expected 1,33% increase in soya bean production announced in the Crop Estimates Committee’s (CEC) September crop forecast is testament to the growing awareness of soya bean’s value as a viable alternative for summer crop production.

The current strike action by the United National Transport Union and the South African Transport and Allied Workers' Union is the last thing the South African economy needs at the moment.

Among the main issues related to agriculture that Italy’s new right-wing coalition, which will be forming a government in the next few weeks, is expected to address, are food sovereignty and a concept of sustainability that does not overlook economic and social aspects.

Following the first brown locust outbreak in the Northern Cape, there are fears that locust numbers could get out of hand due to vast areas of vacant land in the province.

The South African poultry industry is expected to recover to pre-COVID-19 levels following increased demand for chicken meat amid higher beef and lamb prices.

The heatwave experienced during the week of 3 October along with Stage 4 rolling blackouts have delivered a double blow to Limpopo’s crop and livestock farmers.

The latest increase in diesel prices is a severe blow to grain farmers, according to André Kirsten, vice-chairperson of Grain SA’s Winter Grain working group.

The latest financial woes of the Meat Corporation of Namibia (Meatco) have raised concerns about the financial future of this state-owned entity. This was according Thinus Pretorius, chairperson of Namibia’s Livestock Producers’ Organisation (LPO).

Swiss voters have rejected a proposal to ban intensive farming in a referendum held on 25 September to establish whether Switzerland's strict animal welfare legislation needs to be further tightened.

The National Assembly passed the Expropriation Bill as referred to it by the Portfolio Committee on Public Works and Infrastructure without addressing the “serious flaws” in the bill, according to Christo van der Rheede, executive director of Agri SA.

Agricultural role players have welcomed the arrest and court appearance of a further three people in the Estina Dairy corruption case. The accused appeared in court on 28 September on charges of fraud, theft, corruption, and money laundering.