The Minister of Labour called for calm during farmworker protests
The Minister of Labour, Mildred Oliphant, has asked workers who took part in an industrial action for higher wages and better working conditions to conduct themselves peacefully.
Agri Mega opens its doors in Gauteng
Believing that agriculture on the African continent could soon be facing a wave of growth and prosperity, has led Agri Mega to open an office in Pretoria in Gauteng recently, according to the company.
Poor working conditions in forestry come under the spotlight
Poor working conditions of forestry workers, who were mostly contracted on a minimum wage for physically demanding work, increased the possibility of strikes similar to those on mines and Western Cape farms from spreading to the forestry industry.
Disaster in Northern Cape as fire destroys rangelands
A 12-day fire destroyed 215 000ha on the Ghaap plateau in the Northern Cape last month, leaving stricken farmers with no grazing. Annelie Coleman reports.
Slight relief in fuel prices
All grades of petrol will be 9c/l cheaper as from Wednesday 5 December and the price of diesel will decrease by between 5c/l and 6c/l.
North West fisheries programme launched
The North West department of agriculture recently launched its Aquaculture and Fisheries Programme at Disaneng Dam near Mahikeng.
‘Not all crimes on farms are farm attacks’
Free State Agriculture (FSA) has argued that a distinction should be made between criminal incidents on farms and farm attacks.
Rhino poaching keeps rising
The total number of rhinos lost to poaching since the beginning of this year stood at 588, with 246 suspects being arrested.
Joemat-Pettersson guilty of reckless spending
Unconscionably excessive, reckless and unethical was how the public protector, Thuli Madonsela described agricultural minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson’s spending.
Large injection for sustainable agriculture
Sustainable farming in South Africa has been given a boost by Nedbank which announced that it would invest R8,3 million in the World Wide Fund for Nature South Africa’s (WWF-SA) Sustainable Agriculture Programme.
Western Cape should focus on high value products
Population growth and rapid urbanisation will lead to a strong increase in the demand for food globally which means that the future looks bright for agriculture, but there are many challenges standing in the way of farmers seizing the opportunity to increase production.
Conflicting reports on de-gazetting of Gongolo claim
Conflicting reports have emerged regarding the apparent imminent de-gazetting of the Gongolo restitution land claim in KwaZulu-Natal, which 10 years after being gazetted, has not been resolved.
Farmers use their wits and IT to track suspect
Farmers in KZN’s Estcourt area made headlines recently when they assisted police in tracking down a man on 4 November who allegedly stabbed his wife and sister-in-law before fleeing with his toddler grandson.
Emergency relief for Northern Cape fire victims
Up to 215 000ha grazing was destroyed in the recent veld fires in the Kuruman and Koopmansfontein areas in the Northern Cape,
Agri unity forum to provide answers
The new Agri-Sector Unity Forum will deal with, among other things, land reform problems, water issues and the training of smallholder farmers.
‘Wage dispute’ taken over by politics
As the violence on Western Cape farms abated, political parties engaged in public mud-slinging, with each blaming the other. Denene Erasmus reports.
Fewer dairy farmers produce more milk
Increased volumes of raw milk production in South Africa were not the result of growth in dairy farm units but were due to the competitive nature of the dairy industry, said SA Milk Processors’ Organisation (Sampro) chairperson Melt Loubser.
Sweet success for Tongaat Hulett
Renewable energy, in the form of biofuel production and electricity generation is of increasing importance to sugar processor Tongaat Hulett.
Farmer’s Weekly scoops top award
Farmer’s Weekly recently received the Magazine Publishers’ Association of South Africa’s PICA Award in the Special Interest (Male & Female Interest) category.
Interest rate kept unchanged
The South African Reserve Bank kept the repo rate unchanged at 5% at its last monetary policy meeting of the year. Inflation concerns countered weak economic growth.
