South Africa

Repairs to the Western Cape’s flood-damaged provincial road network are expected to cost more than R2 billion, but emergency funding is yet to be confirmed, and full recovery could take several years.

South Africa’s potato industry needs to adapt its marketing, pricing, and product offering if it wants to remain relevant to younger, time-poor, and increasingly value-conscious consumers.

South Africa's potato industry gathered in Johannesburg on 22 and 23 July for the Potatoes SA (PSA) Congress, where producers, researchers, and stakeholders discussed key issues affecting the industry. Gala functions held on both evenings recognised outstanding achievements with the annual PSA awards.

Livestock producers intending to purchase foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccines through the private vaccination programme are being encouraged to complete the required registration and authorisation process now, while the industry awaits government confirmation on the number of doses to be released for private sale.

The Eastern Cape Department of Agriculture recently launched its Grain Commercialisation Chapter, which includes committing R80 million to strengthen grain and oilseed production as part of its drive to transform the province’s emerging farmers into commercially viable agricultural enterprises.

Cattle Group has secured the Ankole bull Omega from Full Blood Genetics for R5,5 million, setting a new South African record for the breed. The three-year-old now joins the group's herd outside Modimolle, Limpopo.

Grain SA has criticised the Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s (JSE) decision to abandon its pilot multiple reference point model for calculating soya bean location differentials, warning that the move could put producers at a disadvantage and entrench market inefficiencies.

Rockwood Conservation is once again at the centre of South Africa's rhino conservation debate after the Northern Cape High Court, on 3 July, dismissed government's application for leave to appeal, with costs, over export permits for legally and ethically harvested rhino horns.

Biological crop protection products are gaining ground as pest resistance mounts, export markets tighten residue requirements, and climate change reshapes pest pressure. The sector appears to have reached a turning point as multinational crop protection companies are increasingly investing in biological solutions alongside conventional chemistry.

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment has increased the total allowable catch for sardines in fishing grounds west of Cape Agulhas by 6 000t, raising the overall annual allocation from 30 500t to 36 500t.

The Free State’s foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak continues to expand, with the province recently confirming eight new cases and organised agriculture warning that vaccine shortages, delayed booster vaccinations, and under-reporting remain major obstacles to containing the disease.

A Western Cape High Court ruling that money placed in a structured self-insurance account is not tax-deductible could have implications for farmers using similar products and diminish the appeal of a tool designed to help agribusinesses build reserves against climate, disease, and market-related losses.

Leading agricultural organisations, thousands of producers, and more than 500 exhibitors are expected to gather in Bredasdorp, Western Cape, later this year for Nampo Cape 2026, according to the event’s organisers.

With the South African Weather Service confirming the onset of El Niño, Farmer’s Weekly spoke to South African agricultural stakeholders about the sector’s preparedness for the climate phenomenon ahead of the summer crop production season.

The Department of Agriculture is stepping up its foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) response in communal farming areas, with Deputy Minister Nokuzola Capa saying government is now focusing on communities that were not reached during the initial phase of the national vaccination campaign.

Sugar cane growers along the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) North Coast are battling an unexpected labour shortage during peak harvesting season, as many foreign workers have left farming communities following the March & March movement's recent mobilisations in the province and government's crackdown on undocumented foreign nationals.

A small batch of rooibos seeds from the Cederberg is set to embark on an extraordinary journey later this year, travelling thousands of kilometres from South Africa, via the United States, to the International Space Station (ISS) and back to local soil.

South Africa’s horticultural success has presented the industry with a conundrum, as the ever-increasing volumes of fruit require more specialised marketing campaigns to lift demand for these commodities.

South Africa's maize harvest is running about 14% behind last year's pace, but industry experts say there is little reason for concern, with the country still on track to produce a record 17,3 million tons of maize this season.

On 9 July, the Eastern Cape Department of Agriculture celebrated the achievements of women farmers and extension officers during the OR Tambo District leg of the Women Entrepreneur Awards and Extension and Advisory Services Awards.