In March every year, we celebrate the Farmer’s Weekly anniversary. The first issue was launched in 1911, making the publication a whole 113 years old this year.
Since its inception, the Farmer’s Weekly mandate has been to educate and inform; this is still the mandate of the publication today, and is a role that we take very seriously.
The way in which we disseminate information has changed drastically over the years, especially with the introduction of the Internet, and more recently, social media.
According to various studies, people are increasingly getting their news, for example, from social media platforms. Unfortunately, not all news is created equal or should be trusted, and perhaps this is why we are also seeing an increase in disinformation.
Somebody’s opinion on social media, for instance, should not be taken as fact, which is something many people seem to fail to understand.
And this is why, I believe, there is still an important place for print agricultural media, a medium that we are still very much invested in at Farmer’s Weekly.
In many ways, it may seem that the world has moved on from print publications, with so much free information available online. However, the adage, ‘you get what you pay for’ still rings true today, and there is certainly value in paying for information.
For one thing, it suggests that money has been spent on gathering, writing, fact-checking and editing the information that is eventually made public.
While this is not to say that errors do not creep in at some point, or that newspapers and other print publications can’t sometimes be wrong about the information printed, it does suggest a smaller probability of this eventuality, as reputation and capital investment are often at risk in these kinds of ventures.
With our 113-year history, Farmer’s Weekly is well aware of the power and importance of reputation.
And this is why we continue to ensure that we have incredible journalists on our team with years of experience, knowledge and contacts to ensure that we provide the most accurate and up-to-date news and information.
Recently, one of our own, Lindi Botha, was announced as one of five finalists in the first Women’s Insight Deliberation Competition, which seeks to create a platform where women in agriculture can become part of the agricultural discussion platform and ultimately influence public and industry discussions (as per the explanation by Future Agri Perspectives, which runs the competition).
Lindi and many of our other journalists hold many other awards, including awards from international bodies that recognise agricultural journalists for their good work.
With this in mind, Farmer’s Weekly will continue to play a pertinent role in the agriculture space, not only in South Africa, but also in the rest of Africa, as a print publication and on its digital platforms.
I have been with Farmer’s Weekly for more than seven years now, and have been editor for more than two, and I am so proud of the exceptional publication that we manage to produce every week.
I am also proud of the farmers that we feature, the aspiring agriculturalists we speak to and our thousands of readers, who are passionate about agriculture in South Africa. Long may we continue to serve you, our readers!
