South Africa

Farmers should be proactive about establishing their water allocations, says James Brand, senior associate at ENSafrica. Jeandré du Preez spoke to him about the legalities of water usage.

Members of the South African wine and brandy industry have expressed disappointment about the announcement made by Minister of Finance, Malusi Gigaba, in his first budget address that there will be an 8,5% increase in excise duties on wine, sparkling wine and brandy, and a 6% increase on fortified wines.

Despite the announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa in the State of the Nation Address that the ANC would urgently pursue policy reforms that would pave the way for the expropriation of land without compensation, the figures presented in the 2018 budget indicated that it would be business as usual at the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR) for the next three years at least.

The 2018 national budget, tabled by Minister of Finance, Malusi Gigaba, in Parliament today proposes several interventions that will ensure improved fiscal health and economic growth for the country in future, but all South Africans will have to pay to make this happen and change won’t happen overnight.

All hands are reportedly on deck to speedily eradicate the oriental fruit fly (OFF) outbreak that was identified recently in the Western Cape’s Grabouw area.

Although several role players in organised agriculture have welcomed the appointment of Cyril Ramaphosa as president of South Africa, and were positive about the main thrust of his first State of the Nation Address (SONA), concern has been raised about his statements concerning land expropriation without compensation.

The National Wool Growers Association plans to conduct nine training courses in various districts of rural areas of the Eastern Cape during February and March.

South Africa is still in the midst of a listeria outbreak, with no sign of cases decreasing. As of 15 February, there had been 167 confirmed deaths and over 800 cases of infection.

Messages of support have been flooding in for 2017 Agricultural Writers SA National Farmer of the Year, Charles Back, owner of Fairview near Paarl, following a brutal attack by three assailants in the early hours of Wednesday morning, 14 February.

Despite a slight uptick in the number of agriculture jobs created in the fourth quarter of 2017, the sector recorded the second-highest number of jobs lost on a year-to-year basis.

January 2018 tractor sales of 527 units were 10,3% up on the January 2017 figure of 478 units. However, last month’s combine harvester sales of eight units were half the number of those sold in January last year.

Degradation of natural resources, particularly grazing, seriously threatened the livelihoods of South African livestock producers on smallholdings and under communal grazing conditions.

Three new smartphone apps were introduced at a recent Agbiz apps workshop, that could benefit both commercial and smallholder farmers.

Two more executives have resigned from the Agricultural Research Council (ARC). The ARC confirmed this in response to a follow-up query by Farmer’s Weekly.

Free State Agriculture (FSA) is determined to give a voice to the province’s farmers, according to Francois Wilken, president of the organisation.

The health promotion levy (HPL) on the sugar content of sweetened beverages will be announced by Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba in his budget speech for the 2018/2019 financial year.

Stakeholders in an urban agricultural development in KwaZulu-Natal’s Pinetown area are hoping to reduce local crime by converting an overgrown green belt into productive farmland.

As preparations begin for the much-anticipated State of the Nation Address (SONA) on February 8, 2018, we asked leaders in agri for their predictions.

Good rainfall less than two weeks ago in the catchment area of the Kouga Dam near Patensie in the Eastern Cape, has resulted in an increase in the dam’s water level, but was not nearly enough to turn the dam’s dire water supply challenges around.

In its latest estimate for 2017/2018, the Crop Estimates Committee (CEC) has reduced the area planted to commercial maize in South Africa.