Glenneis Kriel
Glenneis Kriel is a senior agricultural journalist for Farmer's Weekly. Her ventures into agricultural journalism started out by chance, more than 20 years ago, when someone suggested she freelance for the magazine, which turned out to be her dream job. Her passion is to write stories that inspire greatness and make people evaluate the way they are doing things.
Agri machinery sales set to remain flat in 2025
South African tractor sales increased by 17% to 9 181 units in 2022, making it the highest annual sales figure in the past 40 years, said Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist at Agbiz, in his recent market analysis.
SA’s hopes are on La Niña for relief
The development of La Niña conditions could result in above-normal rainfall in some parts of the summer rainfall region from mid-January to March.
‘Farmer-unfriendly policies are ruining agriculture’
Farmer strikes in developed countries might soon spill over to developing countries, Theo de Jager, executive director of the Southern African Agri Initiative, told Farmer’s Weekly.
Botswana lifts ban on vegetable imports from South Africa
Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist of Agbiz, said that the phasing out of the ban was good news for South African farmers as vegetable prices declined by roughly 4% since the introduction of import bans from neighbouring countries, such as Botswana and Namibia.
Promising outlook for 2025 wine grape harvest
Wineries hope for good weather during the rest of the season to unlock the full potential of the coming wine harvest.
Cheaper meat bodes well for festive season braais
Meat inflation entered deflationary territory for the first time since May 2019, after clocking negative growth of -0,1% year-on-year (y/y) in November, according to Statistics South Africa’s latest consumer price update.
Government cracks down on illegal honey and liquor
The Directorate of Inspection Services in the Department of Agriculture recently launched a campaign to tackle fake honey and illegal booze.
Land Bank positions itself to reclaim its former glory
Land Bank recently emerged from a four-year period of default. Themba Rikhotso, CEO of Land Bank, spoke to Glenneis Kriel at Nampo Cape about what lies ahead for the bank.
Positive outlook for pears: New varieties and growing demand
Favourable climatic conditions and new blushed pear varieties bode well for Tru-Cape Fruit Marketing. While it was still too early to estimate the size of the 2024/2025 pear harvest, early indications point to a promising season.
Partnership aims to improve farmers’ climate resilience
The Agricultural Research Council (ARC) and the University of the Western Cape recently hosted an inaugural research symposium with the theme ‘Healing through food’. Dr Reckson Mulidzi, manager of the soil and water science research team at the ARC, spoke to Glenneis Kriel about the event and the partnership.
Violent crime drops but farmers urged to strengthen security
Crime statistics for July to September reveal that crime is generally down in comparison with 2022 and 2023, yet up from 2020 and 2021 levels. This was according to crime stats for the second quarter released by Police Minister Senzo Mchunu.
Relief for farmers as interest rates drop again
The recent interest rate cut will give farmers some financial breathing space, according to major banks in the agricultural sector.
Farmers need assistance to adapt to the changing climate
The importance of climate adaptation to improve water and food security was highlighted during a panel discussion at the African Agri Investment Indaba recently held in Cape Town.
Agri investments in Africa remains under pressure
Investments in agrifoodtech in Africa is showing a slight recovery after crashing from a peak of over US$700 million (about R12,7 billion) in funding in 2022 to US$275 million (R5 billion) in 2023.
Action needed to address water pollution after Municipality fined R160m
Agricultural role players have called for more direct interventions for municipal environmental violations after Dipaleseng Local Municipality was fined R160 million for polluting water resources.
‘New excise proposals might hurt liquor industry’
The beer, wine and spirits industries have called on government to give it more time to respond to Treasury’s recently published draft proposals on the taxation of alcoholic beverages aimed at reducing alcohol abuse.
Municipal water failures threaten farmers
While the Department of Water and Sanitation is improving water security in South Africa, farmers are worried about how failures at municipal level might impact them, according to Janse Rabie, AgriSA’s head of natural resources.
Fairtrade: prioritising producers over profit
The Fairtrade movement was one of the first to focus on social and ethical trading. Paul Colditz, commercial director at Fairtrade Africa, spoke to Glenneis Kriel about the opportunities and challenges Fairtrade faces.
Sustainability a reality for wine industry
Wine businesses that ignore Gen Z’s drive for environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles do so at their own peril, says Frans van Wyk, director of Agrifusion.
Changing the potential of your soil
By building soil carbon levels, farmers can improve the resilience of their crops, reduce the use of chemical pesticides and fertiliser, and buffer their crops against extreme weather.
