Annelie Coleman
Annelie Coleman represents Farmer’s Weekly in the Free State, North West and Northern Cape.
Agriculture is in her blood. She grew up on a maize farm in the Wesselsbron district where her brother is still continuing with the family business.
Annelie is passionate about the area she works in and calls it ‘God’s own country’. She’s particularly interested in beef cattle farming, especially with the indigenous African breeds.
‘Proposed new gun legislation bizarre and incongruous’
Agricultural stakeholders have strongly condemned the possibility that, under a newly-revived legislative proposal, South Africans would not be allowed to own guns for self defence.
SA locust outbreaks ‘a frightful scene’
The brown locust infestations across South Africa during the 2020/2021 season have obliterated all previous records, according to Nicol Jansen, Agri Northern Cape president.
North West farmers welcome repair of flood-damaged roads
The North West farming community has welcomed an announcement by the province’s premier Prof Tebogo Job Mokgoro that a total of R36,7 million has been spent in the first quarter of 2021 to repair roads that had been damaged by recent flooding.
Commercial farmers also need government support – Agri SA
South Africa’s commercial agricultural sector needs the same support as “new farmers”. This was the opinion of Christo van der Rheede, executive director of Agri SA, responding to the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (agriculture department), Thoko Didiza’s budget address delivered in Parliament on Thursday, 13 May.
Brown locust outbreaks threaten Southern Africa
Dr Gerhard Verdoorn, operations and stewardship manager at CropLife South Africa, has warned that the recent huge outbreaks of brown locusts (Locustana pardalina) in Southern Africa could cause a humanitarian crisis.
SA set to export record volume of maize
South Africa is expected to export a record 2,8 million tons of maize in the 2020/2021 marketing season, according to the latest estimate of the National Agriculture Marketing Council (NAMC).
Jannie de Villiers to step down as Grain SA’s CEO
After serving as CEO of Grain SA (GSA) for a decade, Jannie de Villiers has announced that he is stepping down and will be leaving the commodity organisation on 31 August.
Ban on captive lion breeding could backfire – expert
Should the recommendation to halt the breeding of lions in captivity, among other practices, be implemented, poaching of free-roaming lions could increase as a result.
Drought crisis deepens in Northern and Eastern Cape
The marathon drought in the Northern and Eastern Cape is escalating into a humanitarian crisis. The western part of the Eastern Cape and adjacent parts of the Northern Cape have been suffering from drought for at least the past seven years and farmers are in the depths of despair, according to Doug Stern, Agri Eastern Cape president.
Farmers urged to report crime along the SA-Lesotho border
The time has come for the citizens of Lesotho and South Africa to take hands and act against criminals surreptitiously crossing the border between the two countries.
New partnership aims to address agri labour problems
South African farmers will now have direct access to advice and assistance with labour matters, while being represented on several national labour forums.
Great scope for expansion of Namibia’s poultry industry
The poultry industry in Namibia didn’t escape the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to René Werner, chairperson of the Namibia Poultry Producers’ Association (PPA).
Free State farmers renew calls for more crime task teams
Additional task teams need to be deployed in the Free State as a matter of urgency to act as a buffer against the rising crime rate, specifically to combat the high incidence of livestock theft along the Lesotho border.
Global fertiliser prices at a two-year high
International fertiliser prices, except for potassium chloride, were at their highest levels in more than 24 months during March, according to Ikageng Maluleke, an agricultural economist at Grain SA.
Breeding wireworm-resistant Meatmasters
Through rigorous selection, Meatmaster stud breeder Nico Grobler from North West has succeeded in significantly reducing wireworm infestation in his Kern Meatmaster flock. This has enabled him to run the stud successfully in an area highly susceptible to the parasite.
Crumbling roads push up production costs for grain farmers
The severely damaged road system in the Free State is making it difficult for farmers in that province to deliver their crops to market, eroding agricultural profit margins in the process.
Sub-Saharan Africa’s economy set to recover in 2021 – World Bank
African countries have made remarkable investments to keep their economies afloat and protect the lives and livelihoods of their people over the past year, according to Albert G. Zeufack, World Bank chief economist for Africa.
Boerseep from Bothaville
Making boerseep takes hours, and the combination of ingredients and timing are crucial to the process. After years of searching for a traditional recipe, Esmarelda van der Walt of Bothaville has become an expert at making this pure, all-purpose, biodegradable soap.
Drought, COVID-19 take heavy toll on Namibian sheep farmers
The Namibian Swakara industry has experienced major production losses for the past three consecutive years.
Botched land reform costing agri department R2 billion
Legal action running to more than R2 billion that had been instituted against the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (agriculture department) as a result of poor land reform and land administration processes, was extremely alarming.
- ADVERTISEMENT -
- ADVERTISEMENT -
MUST READS
- ADVERTISEMENT -
