South Africa

The Agri-Food Career Fair, an initiative of the Produce Marketing Association (PMA), will take place from 22 to 23 May at the University of Pretoria.

Some 15 of the last known free-roaming African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) in South Africa have been safely released at an undisclosed location in Limpopo.

The next global war will in all probability be caused by a lack of food. There will never be peace in the world if enough food isn’t produced.

In a special project, the Italian company Vitale BarbenisCanonico recently offered BKB clients exceptional prices for kids’ mohair with the necessary qualities – super style and character, good length and kemp free.

The retail sales figures of food, beverages and tobacco were the weakest sector measured by Statistics South Africa’s retail sales figures in March, declining 1,8 % on a yearly basis.

Mike Mlengana, chairperson of Afasa, speaking at a panel discussion on Thursday morning, at Nampo, said there were key fundamentals to the debate on land reform.

Some 100 private planes were counted at the start of Africa’s largest agricultural event, Nampo Harvest Day, on Tuesday tying in with similar attendance figures to last year.

The agriculture sector has widely welcomed the National Development Plan (NDP), which places much focus on the important contribution that farming and the agri-value chain can make towards job creation, revitalising rural communities and economic development.

Two SA producer-controlled agri-companies have announced their intention to merge.

The next agriculture minister should have good relationship-building skills, not only technical knowledge of the industry.

There are 10 French businesses exhibiting at Nampo this year. The French Trade Commission, UbiFrance, has recognised the potential for growth in sub-Saharan Africa and, like many other European countries, is proactively looking for market gaps.

The farming community of the Rietvlei area in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands is in shock following the deaths of five young children on their way to school.

The SA National Ploughing Championship will again form part of the Nampo Harvest Day in Bothaville, taking place this week.

International agribusiness, Syngenta recently opened a seed treatment facility at the company plant in Brits, North West, that will also be used for research purposes, to develop and test seed treatment technologies.

Although the good rains of the 2013/2014 summer season have made a significant contribution to what is expected to be a good year for grain farmers, the industry has, over the past decade, succeeded in taking the sting out of weather as a production factor, said Marthinus Loock, senior manager: Agribusiness for Standard Bank.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) reported a 1,6% drop in its Food Price Index (FPI) in April, compared to March this year.

Even unseasonal downpours failed to thwart the 2014 wine grape harvest.

Crimes on farms have been condemned by Free State Agriculture, after Dewetsdorp farmer Andrew Lehlohonolo and his wife Loryn Monokara were attacked on their farm Graigmont on Tuesday, 6 May.

The demand for meat products has grown rapidly during the past decade. The Bureau for Food and Agriculture Policy’s (BFAP) Coordinator: Industry Level Analysis Tracy Davids said this was due to growth in income and improved living standards.

Former minister of agriculture in the Western Cape, Cobus Dowry (67) died on Monday, 5 May, after a long struggle with pancreatic cancer.