South Africa

The extensive flood damage to infrastructure in KwaZulu-Natal following the recent torrential rain is a severe blow for the province’s agricultural industry.

It was clear that the attendees at the foot-and-mouth disease information day held recently in Bothaville realised the crisis that had resulted from the widespread outbreaks of the disease, said Dr John Purchase, former CEO of Agbiz and facilitator of the event.

With the winter fire season getting underway in South Africa, Agri SA has warned its members to prepare for a more destructive fire season than normal.

More rain is expected over the flood-ravaged coastline of KwaZulu-Natal from Friday (15 April) to Wednesday (20 April).

The recent Constitutional Court decision on the transferability and trading of water rights will create uncertainty and erode investor confidence in the agricultural sector, stakeholders have said.

For the first time since South Africa’s single-channel marketing system for agricultural commodities was abolished in the 1990s, citrus fruit was exported from the Port of Maputo in Mozambique on Monday, 11 April.

Stakeholders in the fruit and wine industries are doing everything in their power to address logistical challenges and bottlenecks at South Africa’s ports, specifically the Port of Cape Town, with the situation currently being exacerbated by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The latest outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, confirmed in the Viljoenskroon area of the Free State, is a localised, exceptional event, and with the co-operation of all stakeholders the situation can be brought under control soon.

South Africa’s road infrastructure is critical to the success of the agriculture sector, because commodities valued at about R7,1 billion per annum are transported along these roads.

The South African Cane Growers’ Association (SA Canegrowers) has welcomed the recent announcement of a 12-month delay in the increasing of the Health Promotion Levy (HPL) from 2,21c/g to 2,31c/g of sugar that exceeds 4g/100ml in sugary beverages, but said the tax should rather be “scrapped altogether”.

The present rainy conditions over most of South Africa can be expected to continue until May, with a dry spell expected from about June to November, particularly over the central to western parts of the country.

There has been guarded optimism from stakeholders in the South African agriculture industry following government’s decision to reduce the basic fuel levy by R1,50/l for the next two months, while more permanent interventions were being put in place.

South African livestock producers who are unwilling to implement sustainable and thorough biosecurity measures on their farms are irresponsible, according to James Faber, chairperson of the Red Meat Producers’ Organisation.

The growing importance of the agriculture sector as an employer in South Africa has again been reiterated by Statistics South Africa’s (Stats SA) employment figures for the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2021.

South Africa is sitting on a time bomb as far the contamination of its water resources, and groundwater in particular, is concerned. This was according to Dr Gerhard Verdoorn, operations and stewardship manager at CropLife South Africa.

The announcement by the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB) Monetary Policy Committee on Thursday, 24 March that the repo rate is increasing by 25 basis points to 4,25%, has been met with concern by agriculture sector stakeholders.

Wine producers looking to expand their export footprint over the next three years should look at countries elsewhere in Africa, where tourism is booming.

Farmers have been warned to be on the lookout for cyanobacterial blooms in water bodies, which can be lethal for both humans and animals, and are currently very prevalent.

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) should be regarded as a real and present danger on any farm at the moment.

A strengthening rand and a drop in international crude oil prices could buffer South Africans against the predicted sharp increase in fuel prices planned for April.