South Africa

The annual budget delivered by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana in Parliament on Wednesday, 22 February, delivered some relief for those farmers struggling under the burden of load-shedding and rising input costs.

The South African stock theft statistics as recently released by the South African Police Service (SAPS) is not a true reflection of the impact of the crime in the country, according to Dr Jane Buys, risk and safety analyst at Free State Agriculture.

It is reckless of animal welfare organisations to make unfounded assumptions about the treatment of livestock in South Africa, according to James Faber, chairperson of the Red Meat Producers’ Organisation.

Role players expect Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana to announce support for the agriculture sector as load-shedding and rising input costs see farmers battling to produce affordable food. Godongwana will deliver the annual Budget Speech on 22 February.

The consumer price inflation (CPI) index may have decreased so far this year, but consumers still face significant food costs.

FairPlay has renewed calls for government to remove South Africa’s 15% value-added tax (VAT) from chicken portions because of “rising agricultural costs, including unreliable and increasingly expensive electricity”.

South Africa’s blueberry season has come to a close, and it is one that many farmers would prefer to forget, with the negative repercussions expected to be felt for years to come as many face financial ruin.

On 13 February, government declared a national state of disaster in response to the floods affecting Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Northern Cape and North West.

Agricultural role players are unmoved by the commitments made by President Cyril Ramaphosa during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on 9 February.

Hunger, poverty, soil degradation, and climate change: few crops can boast the ability to solve all of these challenges.

Poultry farmers are operating at a R2/kg loss due to the effects of rolling blackouts and high feed costs, according to Chris Schutte, CEO of Astral Foods.

Solving South Africa’s energy crisis should be at the top of the agenda of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address on Thursday, 9 February, according to various agricultural stakeholders.

Estuaries and wetlands are the most threatened and least protected ecosystems in South Africa. The inclusion of the Soetendalsvlei wetlands into the Agulhas National Park on World Wetlands Day earlier in February was therefore to be celebrated, according to Dr Luthando Dziba, SANParks managing executive for conservation services.

Population decline in South Africa’s biggest agricultural export markets is cause for concern, and young farmers should think carefully about which crops to grow in the future.

Trends in macadamia nut farming margins are showing a downward spiral of lower yields, lower prices and higher input costs. But with good management, farmers should be able to weather the storm.

Sales of agricultural machinery are not expected to reach the record highs of 2022 this year, as inflation rates and high input costs weigh on farmers.

The fruit processing industry is experiencing tremendous challenges because of the power crisis and uncertainty over the future of Langeberg & Ashton Foods, according to Jacques Jordaan, CEO of the Canning Fruit Producers’ Association (CFPA).

Any outbreak of African swine fever (AFS) is a serious concern, but it is disconcerting that the latest outbreak in Gauteng has spread to a commercial pork production enterprise where strict biosecurity regulations were in place. This was according to Dr Thandi Chiappero of the South African Pork Producers’ Organisation’s (SAPPO) consumer assurance unit.

Bluetongue posed an extremely serious danger to sheep production in South Africa and the disease was expected to escalate markedly during the rest of summer and in early autumn of 2023.

South Africa’s sheep industry has continued to decline due to the effects of devastating drought in some parts of the country, as well as lower prices in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.