South Africa

Developing smallholder citrus farmers in South Africa will continue to be hard-hit by the rising pressure of increasing input costs over the next few years. This was according to a statement by Justin Chadwick, CEO of the Citrus Growers’ Association of Southern Africa (CGA).

The South African Red Meat Producers’ Organisation (RPO) has welcomed the recent landmark agreement signed with Saudi Arabia to export between 500t and 1 000t of red meat per annum to that country from next year.

The macadamia industry has called 2022 a watershed year amid a perfect storm of challenges that has brought uncertainty to what has been a consistently high-performing industry.

Many farmers in the Northern Cape have been left in dire straits following wildfires that have devastated more than 300 000ha since August.

The agriculture sector plays a critical role in the South African Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan. This was the message from President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered by the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Thoko Didiza, at the Agri SA Congress 2022 that got underway in Pretoria on Thursday (13 October).

Stakeholders in the agriculture sector have welcomed the establishment of South Africa’s new National Biosecurity Hub.

The expected 1,33% increase in soya bean production announced in the Crop Estimates Committee’s (CEC) September crop forecast is testament to the growing awareness of soya bean’s value as a viable alternative for summer crop production.

The current strike action by the United National Transport Union and the South African Transport and Allied Workers' Union is the last thing the South African economy needs at the moment.

Following the first brown locust outbreak in the Northern Cape, there are fears that locust numbers could get out of hand due to vast areas of vacant land in the province.

The South African poultry industry is expected to recover to pre-COVID-19 levels following increased demand for chicken meat amid higher beef and lamb prices.

The heatwave experienced during the week of 3 October along with Stage 4 rolling blackouts have delivered a double blow to Limpopo’s crop and livestock farmers.

The latest increase in diesel prices is a severe blow to grain farmers, according to André Kirsten, vice-chairperson of Grain SA’s Winter Grain working group.

The National Assembly passed the Expropriation Bill as referred to it by the Portfolio Committee on Public Works and Infrastructure without addressing the “serious flaws” in the bill, according to Christo van der Rheede, executive director of Agri SA.

Agricultural role players have welcomed the arrest and court appearance of a further three people in the Estina Dairy corruption case. The accused appeared in court on 28 September on charges of fraud, theft, corruption, and money laundering.

The farming community’s safety is directly related to food security in South Africa. Thus, the vulnerability of the country’s farming and rural communities to crime is a problem not only for farmers, but the nation as a whole.

The Citrus Growers’ Association of Southern Africa (CGA) has welcomed a decision by Botswanan growers to join the association. According to Justin Chadwick, CEO of the CGA, the organisation looked forward to sharing its knowledge and expertise with these growers.

Despite the current high commodity prices, farmers should be prudent when spending money this year.

The deterioration in the Agbiz/IDC Agribusiness Confidence Index (ACI) for the third quarter of 2022 was expected, given the spike in fuel prices, rampant food inflation, and the weakening of the rand against the US dollar, among other elements.

The announcement by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) on Thursday (22 September) that its benchmark lending rate is being increased by 75 basis points to 6,25% will mean that many farmers may have to restructure their debt and curtail expansion plans. This was according to Prof Johann Kirsten, director of the Bureau for Economic Research.

While over half a million cattle have already been vaccinated against foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) across South Africa, the fight against the disease has been dealt another blow with a recent outbreak being confirmed outside the Free State’s disease management area.