South Africa

Leading South African carrot producer Vito Rugani (64) passed away on Monday. Rugani was the co-owner of Greenway Farms in partnership with Vincent Sequeira.

The importance of mental health and ways to build resilience among veterinary practitioners were key topics at the World Veterinary Association Congress, held from 16 to 18 April in Cape Town.

The large-scale theft of maize in the Free State is being carried out by highly organised crime syndicates, resulting in severe losses for maize producers so far this year. This is according to Dr Jane Buys, Free State Agriculture’s (FSA) safety risk analyst.

The 2024 citrus export season is underway, and early forecasts indicate a notable uptick in export volumes. The Citrus Growers' Association of Southern Africa (CGA) unveiled these projections at a recent Citrus Marketing Forum.

The intense low-pressure system, known as a cut-off low, that resulted in wind damage and flooding in parts of the Western Cape has bought welcome relief to most farmers across the country.

The Western Cape has been struck by disaster as strong winds sent fires blazing, roofs crashing in and wine cellars destroyed over the weekend.

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) approved a 12,74% tariff increase, which came into effect on 1 April for direct Eskom customers, to address the financial challenges faced by the power provider.

The farming industry is vital to the world’s food industry and requires the utmost protection from cyberattacks. This is according to Carey van Vlaanderen, CEO of ESET Southern Africa, who believes that with the evolution of technology, the digital threat level for farmers has increased in recent years.

Parliament recently approved the Expropriation Bill, which has now been sent to President Cyril Ramaphosa for his assent. While there are no timelines in which the president is required to sign a bill, Annelize Crosby, Agbiz Legal Intelligence, told Farmer’s Weekly that it would probably be signed prior to the elections scheduled for 29 May 2024.

The drought in South Africa is a societal challenge and not just an agricultural problem, according to Noko Masipa, the DA’s Shadow Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development.

The effects of the COVID-19 lockdowns are still lingering in the agriculture sector as some businesses have closed permanently while shifts in market demand have influenced the operations of others.

As the South African citrus export season kicks into high gear in the coming weeks, a significant bilateral protocol has been established with the Vietnamese government, paving the way for local oranges to enter the markets of Vietnam.

The summer grain crop has again been revised down as the drought takes its toll on South Africa. The size of the expected commercial maize crop has been set at 13,26 million tons – 7,69% or 1,1 million tons less than the previous forecast in February.

Macadamias South Africa (SAMAC) has been defrauded of R4 million, dealing a further blow to curbing theft in the industry. Macadamia nut theft is rife in South Africa, where both individual criminals and syndicates operate to amass the nuts before they reach processors.

Agribusiness confidence remained downbeat in the first quarter of 2024 and will probably stay that way in the second quarter.

Solid business partnerships will become increasingly important to navigate market threats, according to Absa’s recently released AgriTrends Autumn 2024.

Fruitless and wasteful expenditure has increased almost a thousand-fold, from R33 000 in 2021/22 to over R30 million during the 2022/23 fiscal year, according to the recently released budget review and recommendations report of the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development.

A new outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) has been reported in the Free State. This is according to a statement by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development.

The devastating drought, coupled with the grave impact that extreme temperatures have on agricultural producers, calls for government support, Grain SA said in a statement.

In February, the global food commodity price index, used as a benchmark, recorded its seventh consecutive decline, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).