South Africa

Following an almost 15 year legal battle between Omnia Fertilizer and South Africa’s Competition Commission (CompCom), the fertiliser company has agreed to pay a R30 million “administrative penalty” for engaging in anti-competitive practices.

The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) has formally requested the Department of Health and the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development to consider the necessary legislative amendments to allow for the commercialisation of hemp in South Africa.

The Automobile Association of South Africa is forecasting record increase in fuel prices for October, including a possible R1,38/litre increase in the wholesale diesel price.

Heinrich Kruger, chairman of the agri NWK board, ascribes the company’s positive financial results to its staff’s dedication and hard work.

The East-Asian polyphagous shot hole borer (Euwallacea sp. nr fornicates) has been discovered in pecan trees in Hartswater, Northern Cape, according to the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF).

Nation in Conversation, an agricultural discussion platform, will broadcast live from the first-ever Nampo Cape event at Bredasdorp Park, Overberg from 12-14 September 2018.

The Free State Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Milk Producers’ Organisation (MPO) have agreed on the need to relook how milk is consumed in the province and South Africa as a whole.

Tractor sales in South Africa recovered well in 2017 after a slump in 2016 due to the widespread drought, but the current political and economic climate could affect sales during the latter part of 2018.

All stakeholders in South Africa’s livestock production value chain must urgently put their heads together to re-strategise the country’s approach to tackling rampant stock theft.

Agri SA has requested an “urgent meeting” with the Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, following the release of national crime statistics on Tuesday.

A study published in the journal Fire Ecology by a research team from Stellenbosch University, Nelson Mandela University, SANParks and the CSIR, shows that the invasion of surrounding land by invasive pine trees significantly increased the severity of the 2017 Knysna wildfires.

A large group of farmers and members of Agri SA, met ANC delegates in Pretoria on Friday to voice their concerns about the expropriation of land without compensation.

With data on agricultural production being both dated and skewed towards higher-end commercial agriculture, the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) and Statistics South Africa have launched a campaign to gather more information about smallholder farmers in the country.

Five containers of imported table eggs have been recalled by South Africa's Agency for Food Safety and Quality (AFSQ).

South Africa has entered a recession for the first time since the global economic meltdown of 2008/2009, with the agriculture sector the main contributor to the overall GDP decline measured in the second quarter (Q2).

The African Farmers’ Association of South Africa (AFASA) and the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries needed to collaborate to build on AFASA’s work to support black farmers in accessing markets, land, water and energy.

The women of Sutherland in the Karoo have come up with an innovative way to raise funds to alleviate the plight of the drought-stricken farmers in the district.

Gift of the Givers, Boere in Nood, and Save the Sheep Sutherland have joined forces to procure fodder for 34 drought-stricken districts in the Karoo and southern Cape, where some farms have received hardly any rain over the past four years.

The Crop Estimate’s Committee (CEC) has left its forecast for maize unchanged but expects South Africa’s wheat production to increase by nearly 18% from last season’s harvest.

Blueberry production in South Africa is increasing at a faster rate than previously anticipated, according to a recent Absa Agribusiness Outlook report.