South Africa

Farmers have expressed relief about the announcement that Tiger Brands will extend operations at its canning business, Langeberg & Ashton Foods, for another season.

Protest action that result in disruptions to major transport routes could have a dire impact on the economy over time, according to stakeholders in the agriculture sector.

The dilapidated conditions at the Potchefstroom College of Agriculture were cause for serious concern, the Southern African Agri Initiative (SAAI) said in a recent statement.

In addition to Eskom’s schedule of rolling blackouts across South Africa, which reached Stage 6 in early July, farmers in Limpopo, North West and Mpumalanga have also been hit by severe and unscheduled power outages referred to as ‘load reduction’.

More should be done to regulate and improve the safety in and around grain silos in South Africa. This was according to Bert Oosthuizen, director of Grain Storage Projects Africa, a company offering silo services such as inspections and assessments across Africa.

South African hunters planning to undertake hunting trips to Namibia would be well advised to familiarise themselves with that country’s official regulations pertaining to the transportation of meat back to South Africa.

In recent months, food and fuel prices have increased rapidly, while people are not receiving adequate delivery of basic services.

Millions of subsistence farmers in the Mpondoland region of the former Transkei are being sidelined because of the legalisation of cannabis and hemp production.

South Africans are expected to face hefty fuel price and interest rate hikes in July, which according to Marlene Louw, senior economist at Absa AgriBusiness, will further worsen cost pressures on farmers, and leave consumers with less money to spend on food.

South Africa’s food security is dependent on the safety of farming communities, according to Uys van der Westhuijzen, chairperson of Agri SA’s Centre of Excellence on Rural Safety.

Eskom’s extensive carbon footprint could mean that South Africa’s agricultural commodities will not be welcomed on international markets in future, due to the global move away from fossil fuel usage.

Suppliers of canning fruit to Langeberg and Ashton Foods have been placed in an impossible position after Tiger Brands gave them less than 60 days to come up with more than R200 million to prevent the closure of the factory.

Senior officials of the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development and Agri SA were planning to meet soon to discuss the non-payment of critical service providers in the midst of the worst locust outbreak of the past 25 years.

The Ankole Cattle Breeders’ Society of South Africa’s national auction on 18 June raked in more than R21 million in total for the 80 lots on offer.

Despite the cold weather being welcomed by Western Cape grain and fruit farmers, livestock producers have been urged to keep their animals warm as the temperature continues to drop.

Farmers speaking to politicians about stock theft, rather than reporting it to the South African Police Service (SAPS), is not helping the fight against rural crime. This was according to Willie Clack, chairperson of the National Stock Theft Prevention Forum, who was responding to calls for stronger action against stock thieves.

The rising unemployment rate, surging inflation and dissatisfaction with government are resulting in an increase in riots, especially those that turn violent. Speaking at the recent Mpumalanga Agriculture annual congress held in White River, political analyst Dr Frans Cronjé discussed the results of a study, which showed that support for the ANC was stagnating on the back of failing service delivery.

Rising input costs, biosecurity concerns, interest rate hikes, intensified geopolitical risks and ongoing weakness in municipal service delivery are taking their toll on agribusinesses, according to the Agbiz/IDC Agribusiness Confidence Index released on 13 June.

Plum production has become economically unviable with the majority of farmers suffering a loss over the past two seasons.

The World Bank has lowered its expectation of global economic growth for a third time since October, which bodes ill for South African farmers, according to Marlene Louw, senior agricultural economist at Absa AgriBusiness.