South Africa

The ANC general secretary, Gwede Mantashe, did not receive priority treatment from the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF), after the recent fires that affected several farms in the Cala district of the Eastern Cape, as the department was not involved in offering disaster relief.

The 21st Agri Mega Week, taking place from Wednesday, 18 September, to Saturday, 21 September, at Mega Park, Bredasdorp, will play host to various competitions.

Smallholder farmers need to be part of the solution for the future of SA agriculture. “We should transform the challenges of smallholder farmers into solutions.

Legal wrangles between the South African Boerboel Breeders Association (SABBA) and the department of agriculture are still ongoing.

One of SA’s biggest agribusinesses, Afgri is repositioning itself as a food security company as it continues to invest in its growth on the continent.

Experts believe the current drought in Namibia is the worst experienced in three decades.

Checkers is urging shoppers to step up for spekboom plants (Portulacaria afra) this Arbour Week, which runs until September 7, to be planted on their behalf in underprivileged communities.

The productivity and sustainability of two KwaZulu-Natal community-owned game reserves recently received a boost in the form of a R22 million grant.

Land reform has brought stability and generated income in the Northern Cape, according to Obed Mvula, Northern Cape land affairs director.

The Maize Trust has topped up its initial contribution to transformation projects in the maize industry with another R30 million.

Insurer Mutual & Federal has bought Agricola, the only specialised crop underwriting manager in SA. The company will now be known as Mutual & Federal Agri.

JSE-listed poultry and animal feed producer Country Bird Holdings (CBH) has reported group revenue for the year to June 2013 of R3,2 billion, up from R3,1 billion in 2012, and operating profit of R132,6 million, 11% lower than the R149,5 million achieved in the prior year.

The NSPCA brought an urgent application against the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Tina Joemat-Pettersson in the Grahamstown High Court last week, in a bid to stop the exporting of live animals by sea for slaughter in Mauritius.

A week-long trauma counselling workshop was recently held in Pretoria, with agricultural union TAU SA planning to hold more courses in the light of the frequency of recent farm attacks in SA.

With a strong cold front expected over SA this weekend, the SA Weather Service issued warnings of high winds and the possibility of runaway veld fires over much of the country.

The Gauteng Stock Theft Forum believes it has identified the man at the head of a syndicate that’s targeted stud cattle farmers in the province over the past few months and stolen cattle worth R2,2 million.

To establish an agricultural sector where everybody thrives, partnerships are essential. This was according to Henk Vermeulen, CEO of Free State Agriculture (FSA), speaking at a recent farmers’ day hosted by the Free State Young Farmers’ Committee and OVK near Jacobsdal in the Free State.

South Africa has for too long been on a trajectory of jobless economic growth and the National Development Plan (NDP) is, in essence, an attempt at directing the way for economic growth to be transformed into the type of growth that also creates a number of jobs.

Farmer leaders have concerns about the new director-general of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’ lack of agricultural background.

Buffalo City Organic Producers (BCOP), a predominantly female co-operative based in Mdantsane Township near East London in the Eastern Cape, received the award for Top Entrepreneur: Commercial in the Female Entrepreneur of the Year provincial awards in Aliwal North on 15 August.