South Africa

The Portfolio Committee on Public Works and Infrastructure has announced that the deadline for written submissions by interested parties on the Expropriation Bill [B23 – 2020] has been extended from 10 to 28 February.

Intake volumes for South African table grapes are expected to increase to between 65,3 million and 69,8 million 4,5kg-equivalent cartons, according to the South African Table Grape Industry’s (SATI) third crop estimate for the 2020/2021 season, released on Wednesday, 3 February.

South Africa lost 394 rhinos to poachers in 2020, but according to the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, this was the lowest figure for the past six consecutive years.

Free State Agriculture (FSA) remains vehemently opposed to certain clauses in the Expropriation Bill and seriously questions government’s sincerity with regard to the issue of land expropriation and ownership, according to Francois Wilken, FSA president.

The recently released 2020/2021 summer crop planting estimates from the Crop Estimates Committee (CEC) indicate that farmers have planted about a 6,2% larger area to grain and oilseed crops at 4,19 million hectares.

After starting the year with fuel price increases of more than 40c/ℓ for petrol and 55c/ℓ for diesel, the Automobile Association (AA) indicated that it expected the petrol price for both grades to increase sharply by more than 80c/ℓ in February.

A decision on whether the 2021 Nampo Harvest Day will go ahead in a physical format will be taken at a meeting to be held on Thursday, 4 February.

South Africa’s wine industry is finally heading to court over the third liquor ban that was compounding financial losses already suffered by wine farms, retailers and related businesses during previous COVID-19 lockdown related bans on the sale of alcoholic drinks.

The COVID-19 pandemic and resultant national lockdown in South Africa have produced a plethora of negative socio-economic consequences. Amongst these is a wave of crime against the country’s farmers. Lloyd Phillips reports on this phenomenon and on how government’s consistent failures have made a difficult problem significantly worse.

The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) has announced that it will allow the controlled use of ivermectin to treat COVID-19 in humans.

While some South African farmers received good rainfall over the weekend of 23 and 24 January, storm Eloise resulted in several regions in neighbouring Mozambique being flooded or experiencing water damage.

The Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Thoko Didiza, said she had noted with concern claims by the EFF regarding the submission of annual reports from the former Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR) and its entities.

A group of South African medical professionals and AfriForum are separately pressuring government to fast-track authorisation for the use of human-approved ivermectin products as a potential preventative and curative treatment against COVID-19 infections.

Stock theft remains one of the greatest threats to the long-term sustainability of livestock production in North West.The scourge was being compounded by poor reporting of incidences of stock theft, poor policing, and a failing judicial system in the province.

The UK government has announced that imports of citrus fruit to that country will be deregulated post-Brexit, which means that the original EU phytosanitary restrictions will likely no longer be in place.

Updated weather models and information about cyclone Eloise are suggesting the possibility of widespread flooding, damage to roads and bridges, as well as the possible displacement of affected communities in the northern and eastern parts of South Africa, according to the South African Weather Service (SAWS).

Two of South Africa’s major organised agriculture bodies have expressed concern that farmers who have temporarily handed in their firearms to the South African Police Service (SAPS) during the current amnesty are now defenceless against would-be attackers and other threats.

In a year that will probably go down in history as one of the most challenging years ever for the South African wine industry, wine exports managed to increase 7,7% in value, according to Wines of South Africa.

Free State Agriculture (FSA) has strongly condemned the latest farm attack in the province in which a farm foreman, Simon Mokhala (77), was attacked and nearly drowned in a septic tank.

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