South Africa

Based on reports from various agricultural organisations along the eastern borders of South Africa, the much-hyped Cyclone Dineo, which battered parts of Mozambique with strong winds and rain, caused very few problems locally.

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) Approved Storage Operator supports the issuing of JSE Guaranteed Grade (GG) wheat certificates.

Outbreaks of lumpy skin disease and three-day stiff sickness have been widely reported across South Africa’s summer rainfall region, following good rains in that area.

Large-scale veld fires in 2017 would be devastating to agriculture. Therefore, ongoing communication and cooperation between all role players in veld fire prevention is essential.

Despite reports by news agency Bloomberg that fall armyworm (FAW) may soon affect the sugar cane industry, experts believe that this may not be the case.

The harvest figures of the South African Fruit Exporters (SAFE) are up 21% compared to the same time last year…

There are ample opportunities for local producers to expand into Africa, according to Dirk Hanekom, CEO of Agri All Africa, speaking at a recent TAU SA briefing on diversification options.

Tropical cyclone Dineo, which is expected to hit South Africa later today, has weakened significantly and has been downgraded to a tropical depression.

SA’s grain producers have been cautioned not to use pyrethroids to fight fall armyworm (FAW) as the species was resistant to it.

Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform, Gugile Nkwinti, has called for a pre-colonial audit of land ownership as well as constitutional amendments to allow for land restitution without compensation.

South Africans have until the end of August this year to declare any offshore assets. According to Wayne Sorour, head of Old Mutual International South Africa, there was a global move towards the Common Reporting Standards.

In the initial stages of the Western Cape’s 2016/17 plum harvesting and marketing season, concerns existed that an abundance of small-sized fruit, due to diminished groundwater levels, would undermine prices and profitability.

It was likely that some genetically modified (GM) maize was less susceptible to fall armyworms.

The well-known food and beverages group recently issued a statement to clarify the rationale behind its restructuring strategy first announced in late 2016.

Recent data from the South African Grain Information Services showed that the wheat import tariff has been revised to R1 190/t, 25% lower than the current level of R1 591/t.

On 9 February, President Jacob Zuma delivered the annual State of the Nation Address (SONA) in Cape Town. While some agricultural stakeholders were impressed with Zuma’s commitment to the sector, others were equally unimpressed.

The minimum wage of R20 per hour announced by vice-president Cyril Ramaphosa in parliament recently is not expected to have a marked effect on agriculture.

Despite a positive market sentiment, SA farmers are wary about buying new tractors.

The annual ban on the direct movement of horses into the Western Cape’s African horse sickness (AHS) controlled zone came into effect on 1 February 2017, according to a Western Cape government statement.

President Jacob Zuma will be presenting his State of the Nation Address (SONA) 2017 at 7pm on Thursday, 9 February. South African agriculture has faced a number of challenges in recent years, most notably the severe drought of which the after-effects are still being felt across much of the country.