South Africa

The 11,9% drop in year-on-year national tractor sales between February 2017 and February 2018 has been described as “quite disappointing” by the South African Agricultural Machinery Association (SAAMA).

Members of the Private Rhino Owners Association (PROA) and any individual or company that owns rhinos or legally acquired rhino horn, may trade them legally through the PROA website.

Imports of mechanically deboned meat (MDM) to South Africa from Brazil-based company, BRF, which has been implicated in contravening food safety, has been halted, says Steve Galane, director of communication services at the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF).

South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) has dismissed allegations by Australia’s Minister of Home Affairs, Peter Dutton, that the white minority in South Africa is in any danger.

Government this week formally declared the drought as a “national state of disaster”.

Confidence within South Africa’s agribusiness sector for the first quarter of 2018 (Q1 2018) was at its highest since the third quarter of 2016.

The agricultural industry had a role to play in revitalising the South African economy, said agricultural economist Prof Mohammad Karaan at the recent Grain SA congress held in Bothaville.

The South African Poultry Association (SAPA) has expressed concern about South Africa continuing to accept untested mechanically deboned chicken meat (MDM) imports from Brazil, following reports of corruption and food safety checks being evaded in that country’s meat and poultry industries.

South Africa's gross domestic product (GDP) increased at a better than expected rate in 2017, with the agricultural sector playing a leading role in this regard.

Emotions ran high on day one of Grain SA’s annual congress at Nampo Park, Bothaville, Wednesday, as members reacted to a motion dealing with expropriation without compensation (EWC).

Various factors are expected to result in Astral Foods (Astral) posting what the JSE-listed company described as a “marked improvement” in its financial results for the six months ending 31 March 2018.

The Minister of Health, Aaron Motsoaledi, announced on Sunday that the recent listeriosis outbreak which had resulted in 176 deaths across South Africa since January 2017, had been traced to meat processor Enterprise’s Polokwane facility.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN DARD), there was a recent increase in rabies in the province.

The Western Cape’s agricultural sector is set to lose an estimated R5,9 billion in the 2017/2018 season due to prevailing drought conditions across the province.

An advisory about the possible detection of fall armyworm (FAW) on sunflowers in Mpumalanga was a precautionary measure and should not be a cause for panic, according to Grain SA.

A revised motion brought by the EFF to launch a process to change the Constitution to allow for land expropriation without compensation was passed in the National Assembly on Tuesday.

South Africa’s groundwater needs to be jealously guarded; it is a scarce and extremely valuable resource. Proper management is therefore vital to ensure sustainable farming for generations to come, according to Bloemfontein geohydrology consultant, JL van Vuuren.

Wool traded slightly lower at this week’s sale in Port Elizabeth and the Merino indicator closed at R183,84 (clean), with the rand:dollar exchange rate only playing a minor role in the prices achieved, according to Cape Wools.

A provincial soccer tournament for farmworkers, called Game of Stars, that started off in Limpopo could be extended countrywide.

Top-performing beef cattle stud breeders from the Free State and parts of the Northern Cape were recognised for their achievements during an awards ceremony held in Bloemfontein recently.