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.
Extreme weather and conflict dominate Global Risks Report
The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report shows that respondents are concerned about extreme weather and conflict in the present, short and long terms.
Living the ‘culture’ in agriculture
Creation Wines has won numerous awards, was ranked fourth in the World’s Best Vineyards in 2023, and more recently won the V d’Or award for the Best Brand Experience. The owners, Carolyn and Jean-Claude Martin, spoke to Glenneis Kriel about how their winery became a top tourism destination.
Botswana suspends imports of certain SA commodities
Due to outbreaks of Goss’s bacterial wilt (Clovibacter michiganensis subsp. Nebraskensis) and bud rot of palms (Phytophthora palmivora) in South Africa, Botswana’s Ministry of Lands and Agriculture (MLA) recently suspended imports of certain commodities from South Africa.
Lack of financing hampers regenerative agriculture
Financing for and investment in regenerative agriculture in South Africa are currently lagging behind what is happening in the rest of the world.
African countries adopt a strategy to unlock agricultural potential
Government and private sector will have to work together to get real results from the recently signed the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Strategy and Action Plan.
Raisin production forecast looking positive
Despite some temperature variability during spring 2024, conditions have stabilised, resulting in a positive outlook for raisin production.
Farmers urged to plan carefully for the next ostrich season
Ostrich production is expected to increase by roughly 7% from 140 000 birds slaughtered in the 2023/24 season to 150 000 in the 2024/25 season.
Key trends shaping SA’s agriculture sector
Various trends will reshape the global agribusiness environment over the next 10 years. These trends include agriculture in controlled environments, such as tunnels and greenhouses, which could counter seasonal production advantages, the rise of digital agriculture, artificial intelligence, the use of blockchain and big data, and a return to mechanical weed control using robots.
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.
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