Lloyd Phillips
Lloyd Phillips joined Farmer’s Weekly in January 2003 and is now a Senior Journalist with the publication. He spent most of his childhood on a Zululand sugarcane farm where he learned to speak fluent Zulu.
After matriculating in 1993, Lloyd dreamed of working as a nature conservationist. Life’s vagaries, however, had different plans for him and Lloyd ended up sampling various jobs in South African agriculture before becoming a proud member of the Farmer’s Weekly team.
Proposal to double sugar tax ‘unfair and unfortunate’
A recent call by South Africa’s Healthy Living Alliance (HEALA) for government to double the Health Promotion Levy (HPL) on sugar-sweetened beverages, commonly known as the sugar tax, has been met with disbelief and strong criticism by members of the sugar value chain.
Irrigated wheat: Conservation farming improves water usage and yield
South Africa’s water scarcity and the necessity to import well over one million tons of wheat annually mean that the country’s winter wheat growers increasingly have to optimise their water-use efficiencies. KwaZulu-Natal farmer Egon Zunckel spoke to Lloyd Phillips about his family’s own efforts to achieve higher wheat yield from less water.
Farmer organisations clarify opposition to new minimum wage
The new R21,69/hour national minimum wage (NMW) for farmworkers, which will come into effect on 1 March, has been met with concern by major organised agriculture bodies in South Africa.
Travel ban lifted for South Africans to work on US farms
South Africans looking to take advantage of work opportunities on US farms need to have a strong work ethic and, where applicable, the necessary skills to reliably undertake what farmers there expected of them.
SA’s new online platform for hiring farm equipment
Mechanisation is key to improving food and fibre production. But traditional linkages between companies that lease agricultural machinery and their clients are often problematic. A new online platform promises to take the stress out of hiring and leasing.
Sharp drop in rhino poaching due to lockdown travel bans
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.
COVID-19 lockdown triggers rise in rural crime
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.
Pressure mounts to fast-track ivermectin for treating COVID-19
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.
Firearms re-licencing, amnesty ‘leave farmers defenceless’
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.
Israeli technologies could boost SA agriculture
The trade office of the Israeli embassy in South Africa, together with the Fresh Produce Marketing Association’s South Africa office, jointly hosted the Virtual Agritech Roadshow to South Africa 2020. This webinar showcased several new Israeli-developed agricultural technologies. Lloyd Phillips reports on three new systems designed to improve efficiency and cut food wastage.
Backyard broiler business: Start small, dream big
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, and Emmanuel Gumede has taken this proverb to heart in his dream to one day own andoperate a large-scale broiler farming operation. He shared his experiences as a fledgling broiler grower with Lloyd Phillips.
COVID-19 fears cause rush on ivermectin
Many South Africans fearful of COVID-19 are reportedly throwing caution to the wind by orally consuming ivermectin-based products registered nationally only for administration to livestock in oral, injectable or pour-on formats.
Ensuring food safety in a family-run cheesery
South Africa’s deadly listeriosis outbreak in 2018 showed how a food brand could suffer devastating consequences from shortcomings in its food safety system. The Gourmet Greek, a dairy business in KwaZulu-Natal, is taking no chances in this regard.
Farm murders increased in 2020, despite lockdown – TAU SA
Restrictions on people’s movements during the various COVID-19-related lockdown stages last year appear not to have helped reduce the number of murders on South Africa’s farms and smallholdings.
Public warned against using ivermectin to treat COVID-19
South Africans have been warned not to use the parasiticide, ivermectin, as a preventative or curative treatment for COVID-19. This is after the international debate on the drug’s effectiveness against the disease reached local shores late last year.
Sugar cane speedlings: the fast-track solution to quality seed cane
Conventional stick seed cane, while long relied on as the source of plant material for commercial sugar cane crops, comes with unavoidable inefficiencies. Experts in seed cane propagation explain how the ‘speedlings’ concept provides an alternative, cost-efficient option that has already proven itself in South Africa’s demanding sugar cane farming industry.
‘Consumer spending will determine poultry sector’s fortunes’
Although chicken and eggs are popular, lower-cost protein sources for many South African consumers, widespread unemployment and other COVID-19-related economic challenges will pose a major threat to demand in 2021.
Court rules farm dwellers may be forced to reduce livestock
A recent ruling in the South African Land Claims Court (SALCC) has opened a door for landowners to successfully achieve court orders compelling farm dwellers to reduce their livestock numbers on overstocked land.
SA sugar industry losing billions due to dumping
During coming months, South African consumers will be educated about and encouraged to consume more locally manufactured sugar and sugar products.
Compulsory leases for communal land challenged in court
A small group of residents of traditional authority lands in KwaZulu-Natal, together with supporting non-governmental organisations, recently jointly submitted an application to the Pietermaritzburg High Court to challenge the Ingonyama Trust Board’s (ITB) decision to make all residents of these lands sign lease agreements.
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