South Africa

Grain SA has welcomed a decision against the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) not to implement a transport differential for soy beans in SA.

South Africa has to explore North African and Middle Eastern markets, which will grow exponentially in the next decade. Those countries do not have the capacity to grow their own food, according to Dr Holger Matthey, an economist in trade and markets at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

While South Africa was creating jobs and achieving some economic growth, these processes were not happening fast enough to keep up with the rate at which the population was growing and people were entering the job market.

South Africans were on average 25% poorer today than we were seven years ago, according to Agbiz CEO Dr John Purchase, speaking at the annual Free State Agriculture Congress in Bloemfontein on Wednesday.

Multinational chemical company BASF has concluded its €7,6 billion (R123 billion) all-cash acquisition of various businesses and assets of global life sciences and agriculture company Bayer.

The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR) has confirmed that the list containing the names of 195 farms allegedly earmarked for expropriation without compensation is fake.

South Africa’s grasslands are threatened by the encroachment of bankrupt bush (Seriphium plumosum), according to Dan’sile Cindi, deputy director: Ecological Infrastructure at the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI).

Weather forecasts indicate that there was a more than 50% chance of another El Niño event occurring in the coming season, which could result in drought conditions, according to a recent Absa Agricultural Outlook report.

The Fresh Connections: Southern Africa Conference and Trade Show 2018 will include a special focus on identifying growth opportunities in China.

As the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’ 2018 Female Entrepreneur Awards competition draws to a close later this month, last year’s national winner has urged candidates to share their success with their communities.

Smaller milk producers in South Africa may be in for a tough time as prices and demand fluctuate, due to the South African market coming under increasing pressure from cheaper imports, among many other factors.

Maize harvesting in the western part of South Africa’s summer grain production region was progressing slowly, according to Grain SA economist Petru Fourie.

During the recent annual Agri Eastern Cape congress in Jeffrey’s Bay, the organisation reached a resolution to support the establishment of a school of veterinary science in the province.

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement on Tuesday that the ANC would move to amend Section 25 of the Constitution to “explicitly” allow for expropriation of land without compensation, has caused confusion in many quarters.

Fresh produce suppliers can choose from a variety of marketing channels, which each offer different challenges and rewards, when selling their produce.

South Africa has officially opened its market to imports of US shell eggs, according to a report by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

A woman tree farmer from KwaZulu-Natal’s Greytown area was recently announced as NCT Forestry’s 2018 Tree Farmer of the Year in the competition’s small-scale grower category.

Albertina Nontwazana Stungu, a domestic worker in Port Elizabeth, is testament to the fact that a farming operation does not necessarily require vast tracts of land.

Minister of Police Bheki Cele’s request to Parliament for a six-month amnesty period for firearm owners whose licences have expired, has been referred to the Parliament Portfolio Committee on Police where it will be discussed on 16 August.

A further 200 elephants from South Africa have been donated to Mozambique, this time by the De Beers Group. This follows the donation of 53 elephants by two KwaZulu-Natal conservation areas that were recently translocated to the Zinave National Park in that country.