South Africa

In yet another devastating blow for KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), a tornado ripped through parts of Durban on the afternoon of 27 June, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.

The recent sharp decline in food inflation is obviously good news for cash-strapped consumers, but bad news for the agriculture sector.

Farmers are being called on to work together to build safer communities, rather than wait for government to act.

The latest Agbiz/IDC Agribusiness Confidence Index (ACI) shows that agribusiness has significant apprehension about business conditions in South Africa.

While the extent of damage is still unclear, the Western Cape Department of Agriculture is estimating losses caused by flooding in the province at between R750 million and R1 billion.

As the summer rainfall region enters the fire season, farmers have been cautioned to keep a watchful eye on Eskom lines and transformers.

Heavy rains since Wednesday have been causing huge damages to roads and infrastructure in the Western Cape.

US lawmakers recently published an open letter in which they asked the White House to move the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Summit, scheduled to take place this year in November, away from South Africa, citing the latter country’s seemingly close relationship with Russia.

Politicians and businesses have been challenged via a new billboard campaign to close the food gap in South Africa. The campaign, which has been launched in Johannesburg and will soon be rolled out countrywide, makes use of 300 billboards demanding urgent action to make basic nutritious food more affordable.

Global access to the latest seed technology will play a vital role in food security as climate change increasingly hinders food production.

The Department of Water and Sanitation recently published a draft in which it proposed that certain enterprises would need up to 75% black shareholding to apply for water licences. The shareholding requirement would depend on the volume of water applied for or the area covered, in the case of commercial forestry.

South Africa’s unemployment rate increased by 0,2% to 32,9% from the fourth quarter of 2022 to the first quarter of 2023, according to Statistics South Africa’s recently released Quarterly Labour Force Survey.

Low inventories of eggs and chickens at the retail level have sparked rumours that the sale of poultry products is being halted to curb the spread of avian influenza to consumers.

The crime statistics for January to March 2023, released on Tuesday, show that communities, especially agricultural communities, are left to safeguard their families, properties and businesses by themselves.

Free State Agriculture (FSA) has expressed serious concern about the impact of load-shedding on producer prices for red meat.

South Africa’s annual consumer inflation rate slowed to 6,8% in April 2023 from 7,1% in March. Although a small change, it does represent the lowest reading since May 2022, when the rate was 6,5%.

A potential crisis in animal health as well as food safety and security looms in South Africa because of a shortage of veterinarians in the country.

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) expects above-normal rainfall for most parts of the country in early winter. For the southern coastal areas and the south-west, the mid- to late winter forecast is above-normal and below-normal rainfall respectively.

Grain SA (GSA) succeeded in creating an excellent platform for local and international agricultural suppliers and manufacturers to introduce the latest and most advanced global technology.

Government recently approved anti-dumping duties, ranging between 8,8% to 239%, on frozen potato chips imported from the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium.