Farming Basics

A business plan will differ according to the size and technical complexity of the business.

After producing vegetable seedlings for almost 40 years, Dux Meintjes knows how to adapt to market demands. These days, that may mean less reliance on commercial farmers and more attention to the hawker, communal and emerging sectors.

Nobuntu Mazeka is an organic subsistence farmer and a staunch defender of her community’s way of life. But living in the vicinity of the proposed mine at Xolobeni, she finds herself up against two exceedingly tough opponents, an Australian mining company, and her very own government. Robyn Joubert visited her.

Many concerns, such as immigration and unemployment, affect the environment in which the ANC will have to make critical choices. But, speaking at the 2010 Agricultural Business Chamber Congress, emeritus professor of political science Willie Breytenbach said there are still reasons to stay positive and opportunities for constructive contributions by agriculture. One such opportunity will be the Green Paper on land reform.

Government-funded development agency Asgisa Eastern Cape, food giant Unilever South Africa and the Development Bank of South Africa recently signed an agreement in East London to promote crop production to supply Unilever’s processed food range. Mike Burgess assesses the developmental challenges that may face this agreement, as reflected in a paprika project near Keiskammahoek, and possible long-term solutions to an embarrassing developmental vacuum in the region.

While the hospitality industry isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, an Mpumalanga farming couple has been able to successfully marry their farming business with a now internationally renowned and multi-award-winning, four-star on-farm accommodation and dining establishment. Lloyd Phillips reports.

Father and son team Allan and Kevin Penderis from the Natal Midlands have developed the first legitimate, independent certification for free-range dairy in South Africa. Kevin tells Robyn Joubert that it couldn’t have come at a better time.

Thanks to an established South African-based farming company, adventurous local farmers can now broaden their horizons with an opportunity to farm in other African countries.

In 2007 the Eastern Cape government established Asgisa Eastern Cape Pty Ltd to get rural development in the province off the ground. The main focus being large-scale maize production in the former Transkei. Now, after their first harvest, Mike Burgess asked Asgisa Eastern Cape CEO Simpiwe Somdyala how the project has fared, and discovers that it often tends to be a mixed bag of success.

A phenomenal 200 000+ men attended this year's Mighty Men Conference. Led by renowned preacher, farmer and Farmer's Weekly columnist Angus Buchan at his family's Shalom Farm outside Greytown in KwaZulu-Natal, men from all over South Africa as well as from overseas heeded his call for a weekend of Christian fellowship. Lloyd Phillips reports.

Deon Theron, vice president of the Commercial Farmers' Union (CFU) in Zimbabwe, was in Johannesburg for the recent emergency Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit. Rudi Massyn was there and caught up with him to discuss the neglect of commercial farmers in Zimbabwe.

Farmers are well-equipped to capture and store tons of carbon in the soil, locking in greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. So why can't they turn a profit on it? Peter Hittersay reports on efforts to ensure they do.

Jannie Mouton, investment maverick and CEO of Zeder Investment, started investing in agribusinesses in the early 1990s, when IT technology was all the buzz. Amidst much scepticism, Zeder is today established on the investment portfolio map, turning old co-ops profitable by investing in agribusinesses such as KWV and Kaap Agri.

Markets are business, and globalisation is opening up markets to agribusiness. This is one of many reasons why Dr John Purchase is excited to be the new CEO of the Agricultural Business Chamber (ABC). As former CEO of Grain SA, he also understands the synergistic relationship of farmers and agribusinesses. Susan Botes found out more about his vision for ABC.

The Meat Safety Act was passed seven years ago but the local industry is still waiting for it to be fully enforced. While it waits for the agriculture department to appoint authorised inspectors to conduct meat inspections, the industry is concerned how the delays will affect its reputation. Wilma den Hartigh reports.

The five-year process of drafting the AgriBEE Charter is nearing completion and it could be finalised and gazetted in the next three months. Wilma den Hartigh asked Tobias Doyer, CEO of the Agricultural Business Chamber, to clarify a few uncertainties about BEE in agriculture and explain how farmers can make it work for them.

Between 2004 and 2005, agriculture's real output grew at 4,1%, although employed labour was down by 10,9%. The National Productivity Institute (NPI) wants to develop a culture of productivity, and plans 39 turnaround solutions for 2007, impacting on more than 9 000 jobs. NPI's corporate services executive Bongani Coka spoke to Cornelia du Plooy

Maize farmers hope to sell their surpluses to the biofuel industry. A study has shown SA's maize belt in North West and the Free State is an ideal location for biofuel plants, because it provides a secure feedstock supply in the vicinity of feedlots and fuel refineries.

The debate around whether global warming exists is well and truly over, says Dr Stephanie Midgley, a leading scientist in the field of climate change at the University of Stellenbosch. Her most recent research shows that climate change is already having a significant effect on agriculture in the Western Cape - the SA region that scientists predict will be hardest hit by rising temperatures and decreasing rainfall. Anneliese King reports.

Seven months after taking over as head of the Agricultural Research Council (ARC), Dr Shadrack Moephuli, chief executive officer, has many plans for the council, its shareholders and the country's farming community. Farmer's Weekly put to him some of the questions many have been longing to ask. Cornelia du Plooy reports.