News

The latest outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, confirmed in the Viljoenskroon area of the Free State, is a localised, exceptional event, and with the co-operation of all stakeholders the situation can be brought under control soon.

South Africa’s road infrastructure is critical to the success of the agriculture sector, because commodities valued at about R7,1 billion per annum are transported along these roads.

The South African Cane Growers’ Association (SA Canegrowers) has welcomed the recent announcement of a 12-month delay in the increasing of the Health Promotion Levy (HPL) from 2,21c/g to 2,31c/g of sugar that exceeds 4g/100ml in sugary beverages, but said the tax should rather be “scrapped altogether”.

The present rainy conditions over most of South Africa can be expected to continue until May, with a dry spell expected from about June to November, particularly over the central to western parts of the country.

There has been guarded optimism from stakeholders in the South African agriculture industry following government’s decision to reduce the basic fuel levy by R1,50/l for the next two months, while more permanent interventions were being put in place.

The reality of current reduced household budgets in Australia is being reflected in the demand for free-range eggs in that country. While daily egg consumption in Australia has reached 17 million, the preference for free-range eggs is no longer rising.

South African livestock producers who are unwilling to implement sustainable and thorough biosecurity measures on their farms are irresponsible, according to James Faber, chairperson of the Red Meat Producers’ Organisation.

The growing importance of the agriculture sector as an employer in South Africa has again been reiterated by Statistics South Africa’s (Stats SA) employment figures for the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2021.

South Africa is sitting on a time bomb as far the contamination of its water resources, and groundwater in particular, is concerned. This was according to Dr Gerhard Verdoorn, operations and stewardship manager at CropLife South Africa.

A complete ban on the movement cattle has come into immediate effect in four areas in the Kavango West Region of Namibia following an outbreak of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia.

The announcement by the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB) Monetary Policy Committee on Thursday, 24 March that the repo rate is increasing by 25 basis points to 4,25%, has been met with concern by agriculture sector stakeholders.

The use of low-grade rice in animal feed rations across Asia has resulted in the price of this staple commodity rising rapidly.

Wine producers looking to expand their export footprint over the next three years should look at countries elsewhere in Africa, where tourism is booming.

Farmers have been warned to be on the lookout for cyanobacterial blooms in water bodies, which can be lethal for both humans and animals, and are currently very prevalent.

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) should be regarded as a real and present danger on any farm at the moment.

Rabies has killed thousands of kudus in Namibia since the 1970s, but years of research into methods to combat the often-devastating outbreaks have now yielded positive results.

Sugar industry analysts in Brazil expect the sharp hike in local fuel prices to result in a substantial reduction in the volume of sugar exported from that country during the new crop season that starts in April.

A strengthening rand and a drop in international crude oil prices could buffer South Africans against the predicted sharp increase in fuel prices planned for April.

The garlic industry’s troubles have returned after a brief glimmer of hope during the COVID-19 lockdown period.

According to industry experts, South Africa’s fertiliser prices are the third-highest in the world, with one of the most important contributing factors being the fact that this input is no longer transported by rail.