Working conditions on Boland farms wrongfully portrayed
Agri Wes Cape is concerned that a statement released by the Department of Labour (DoL) about recent inspections conducted on farms in the Paarl area might be a deliberate attempt to create a false impression about the state of working and living conditions on farms in the province.
Land policy tussle
Current agricultural and land reform policies are not workable and fair, and sometimes don’t make any sense.
Government engaging Vietnamese on rhino poaching
The Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) said it is engaging with different national governments to find solutions to rhino poaching, which has already seen 150 rhinos killed illegally since the beginning of the year.
Red meat producers struggle as drought continues
Sporadic rain over the summer rainfall region of South Africa resulted in pockets of drought in virtually every district in the area.
Game industry wants legal rhino horn trade
The decline in rhino numbers is a direct result of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species’ (Cites) ban on rhino horn trade, according to Dr Herman Els, manager of Hunting and Conservation at the SA Hunters and Game Conservation Association (SAHGCA).
Map to protect birds from wind energy installations welcomed
An Avian Wind Farm Sensitivity Map has been welcomed by South Africa’s Wind Energy Association.
Solidarity now also demands priority crime rating for farm attacks
Trade union, Solidarity, has puts its support behind efforts to have farm attacks and farm murders declared a priuorty crime.
Forestry sector unhappy with new minimum wages
The South African forestry sector wants labour productivity to be commensurate with new minimum wages.
Grain handlers brace for 15 million tons this year
The Grain Handling Organisation of Southern Africa’s (GOSA) members handled 10,4 million tons of maize in 2011, of which 1,8 million tons were exported to Mexico, Italy, Korea, Venezuela, Kuwait, Iran, Japan, Madagascar and Taiwan.
Namibia launches R19 million game meat plant
Renecker’s Palace Hillside Elk Farm of Canada, along with an investment group of about five game ranchers in Namibia, and US-based Indian Gally International, recently opened a game ranch and meat processing plant in Gobabis in eastern Namibia.
Current land reform model misses the point – Roelf Meyer
“It should not be necessary to change the Constitution to solve land reform problems,” said Roelf Meyer, guest speaker at the launch of the Bien Donné Agri Cape Week in Paarl.
Expensive biotech hinders growth
Technology is driving agriculture forward and has been responsible for dramatic growth in countries that have adopted these tools. But small-scale farmers, unable to afford the technology, are being left behind.
