How can SA biofuels sector attract foreign investors?

What will attract international investors to the biofuels industry in South Africa? Gregor Paterson-Jones of Sterling Waterford Holdings, an investor in SA's Ethanol Africa, explains that South Africa has to overcome competition from attractive biofuels deals internationally and an unsophisticated investor base. But pending legislation is one of the biggest drawbacks for potential biofuels investors. Wilma den Hartigh reports.
Issue Date 4 May 2007

Africa News

Small-scale farmers in Malawi are becoming aware that they are bearing the brunt of climate change, which has been adversely affecting productivity, according to a new study by an international aid agency.
Issue date 4 May 2007

‘Zimbabwe is in the past’ – a farmer moves south

Being uprooted from your birth country, where you and your parents have been making a living for all their lives, is a traumatic experience. Peter Stuart and his family, who were evicted from their land in Zimbabwe, managed to survive this ordeal and come out stronger at the other end. Peter talks to Glenneis Erasmus about the journey from Zimbabwe to South Africa and the valuable lessons he has learned.
Issue Date 4 May 2007

Inaccurate Mpumalanga municipal valuations

Farmers were outraged last MONTH after an Emakhazeni valuation roll revealed that farm prices in the Dullstroom, Machadodorp, Waterval- Boven and Belfast areas of Mpumalanga had been set at a staggering R25 000/ha - although according to a local farmer, agricultural land has been selling at between R1 800 and R5 000 per hectare in the area.
Issue date 4 May 2007

On-the-clock squid snack

There are times, usually in-between meals, when the stomach cries out for more than just another peanut butter sandwich. And while a peanut butter sandwich is indeed one of the all-time great instant comfort foods, the demanding snacker needs greater complexity when snack time comes up on the internal clock.
Issue Date 27 April 2007

Knitbone (comfrey)

Comfrey, also known as “knitbone”, has remarkable healing powers.
Issue Date 27 April 2007

Preparing for the racing season

Our South African racing season begins towards the end of May and many fanciers are counting the days, but being too hasty can ruin your season.
Issue Date 27 April 2007

Did farmers really evict almost a million people?

"The Nkuzi study probably overstates the prevalence of farm evictions"
Issue Date 27 April 2007

Letter – 27 April 2007

Humane predator deterrents do work
Is there a criminal campaign against food production?
A matter of fact - platteland style!
Issue Date 27 April 2007

Don’t delay any longer – get BEE compliant

Many farmers have adopted a wait-and-see approach to Black Economic Empowerment, hoping it will go away, or waiting for a better time to participate. At the recent Overberg Indaba, Dries Coetsee, MD of Aid Agri, gave reasons why farmers should now get off the fence and become involved.
Issue Date 27 April 2007

Business booming for New Holland SA

A YEAR HAS PASSED since the announcement at the 2006 Nampo Agricultural Trade show of Invicta Holdings' acquisition of the South African New Holland agricultural machinery franchise. Since then, despite the negative effect of the drought, the company has announced that business is booming.
Issue Date 27 April 2007

Black economic exasperation!

Strawberry farmer John Sandison's plan to sell 36% of his company to 15 black workers has been plagued by hurdles from the Department of Land Affairs, and has turned a BEE opportunity into a bureaucratic nightmare. Robyn Joubert reports.
Issue Date 27 April 2007

Turn your slurry into fertiliser and save money

Slurry is difficult to dispose of and poses a threat to people, livestock and the environment. A system operated by Andrew and Liz Williams uses slurry as nutrient-rich organic fertiliser that is cheaper than commercial products. Lloyd Phillips finds out more.
Issue Date 27 April 2007

Farmers reject ‘one size fits all’ AgriBEE document

Farmers across the country are unhappy with the minister of agriculture's latest adjustments to the AgriBEE draft document. Good news, however, is that the industry can revert to the generic document set by the Department of Trade and Industry if it does not accept these changes.
Issue date 23 March 2007

Farming the Sotho frontier

Pieter Vermooten farms on the Lesotho border near Ficksburg in the eastern Free State and suffers increasingly crippling losses from theft - but specifically stock theft as control along the Lesotho/South Africa border in the area continues to disintegrate.
Issue Date 27 April 2007

A sad farewell to Prof von Holy

Prof Alex von was a brilliant lecturer and presenter. He had a delightful sense of humour and was capable of holding the attention of senior executives, scientists, students and even shop-floor operators for long periods on end.
Issue Date 27 April 2007

KZN 2007 sheepdog trial champions

The SA Sheepdog ASSOCIATION (SASDA) recently held the first of its seven annual regional trials near Mooi River, KZN where, according to SASDA vice-president Izak Hattingh, approximately 19 handlers and 47 sheepdogs participated.
Issue Date 27 April 2007

E Cape power line to go ahead

The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism has accepted the final scoping report and has given the go-ahead for Eskom's Gamma-Grassridge power-line plan to proceed to the impact assessment phase, according to Acer, the environmental management consultants in charge of the project.
Issue Date 27 April 2007

‘Farm fish for the sake of our children’

Children born today may not be able to buy fish by the time they turn 40 because the world's fish stocks will have been depleted.
Issue Date 27 April 2007

Project helps emerging farmers go organic

The organic farming industry could provide 100 000 jobs within the next seven years through the Organic Freedom Project (OFP), a newly established non-profit organisation focused on helping developing farmers to farm organically.
Issue Date 27 April 2007

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