News

Mushroom prices in South Africa are still recovering after production of the crop came under pressure during the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the negative impact of trade restrictions on the food service and tourism markets.

Jumbo (WZ 1452), an eight-year-old Boran bull, is an exceptionally well-balanced animal that is structurally correct on nearly every level.

In an attempt to support producers in making the transition to climate-smart food production, a team of scientists are taking part in the EMR Food Screening project being undertaken by universities, researchers and companies from Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Persistently wet lands have forced many farmers in South Africa’s summer rainfall region to make use of additional casual labourers to harvest grain and oilseed crops.

The current and unwarranted ban on wool exports from South Africa to China, due to recent foot-and-mouth Disease (FMD) outbreaks in parts of the country, is the biggest challenge the industry has faces during the past two centuries.

Rhino poachers are moving away from the Kruger National Park to private reserves, with KwaZulu-Natal suffering the most incidents so far this year.

A record white maize harvest is expected for Namibian farmers in the 2021/22 production season.

Plant numbers in the Succulent Karoo Biome are declining at an alarming rate due to the combined impact of climate change and the illegal removal of these rare and endangered plants from their natural habitat.

US officials has again placed the spotlight on that country’s strained trade relations with China by accusing the latter of stockpiling grain amid a global food crisis.

Agricultural stakeholders have welcomed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s plan to end rolling blackouts across the country, but have also raised some concerns.

With thousands of skilled South Africans emigrating and xenophobia discouraging immigration, Theo Boshoff, CEO of Agbiz, has warned that South Africa’s agriculture sector could become stagnant in the absence of enough skilled agri-tech workers.

The current steep increases in food prices would not continue indefinitely, according to Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist at Agbiz.

Namibia’s Livestock Producers’ Organisation (LPO) has reacted with great concern to reports of 40 deaths among cattle, and clinical illness in a further 100 cattle, following an outbreak of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia.

The fur garment industry in Greece has been forced to shut down overnight due to the sanctions imposed by the EU against Russia following that country’s invasion of Ukraine.

The murder of seven people on Lismor Farm in the Kestell district on Friday, 15 July has reaffirmed the importance of vigilance and having an up-to-date rural safety plan in place to empower farmers against farm attacks. This was according to Uys van der Westhuizen, chairperson of Agri SA’s rural safety committee.

Despite the robust performance of local agricultural machinery sales in the first half of the year, sales were expected to level off in the second half of 2022, according to Wandile Sihlobo, chief agricultural economist at Agbiz.

South African businesses and consumers should prepare themselves for an interest rate hike of between 50 and 75 basis points to be announced by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) on Thursday, 21 July.

Dr Gerhard Verdoorn, CropLife South Africa’s stewardship manager, expressed serious concern about the exporting of donkey skins from South Africa to China.

South Africa’s Khoi and San communities are finally being recognised for their intellectual contributions to rooibos cultivation. However, according to Collin Louw, secretary general of the South African San Council, it was concerning to see the amount of infighting among the communities’ members over the funds they were due to be paid for the role they played in the sector.

While the fertiliser industry in the US scrambles to find solutions to rising prices, some farming organisations have expressed concern that the efforts being made are not addressing the control large fertiliser companies wield over the market