Letter from the editor

During the first week of January, the University of Oxford in the UK hosted the annual Oxford Farming Conference. Reading through some of the presentations given at the event, I was reminded of how globalised the challenges and opportunities in farming have become.

New Year’s resolutions may seem passé, but they can be a great way of at least attempting to implement what is known as the Urgent-Important Matrix in your life.

Finally, we have come to the end of a year that has tested farmers in this country like no other year before, and I am reminded of the poet, Robert Frost, who said, “in three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.”

I recently asked Agbiz CEO, Dr John Purchase, whether or not, all things considered, he would, in good conscience, advise someone with no current investment in agriculture to go ahead and buy a farm in South Africa.

South Africans are nervously awaiting the announcement by ratings agencies on whether the country has retained its sovereign credit rating, or if it has been downgraded to junk status.

I have previously written about the serious threat posed to the future of agriculture because young people are no longer interested in following a career in farming.

I was reminded recently that many of the challenges faced by our country’s farmers are, if not universal, at least shared by others in Southern Africa.

South Africa’s agriculture sector breathed a sigh of relief when it was announced that Mike Mlengana had been appointed the new director-general of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF).

All praise to Lindie Stroebel and her team at the Produce Marketing Association: Southern Africa, who organised the PMA Fresh Connections: Southern Africa Conference & Expo 2016 held in Pretoria recently.

This week, South Africans will have the opportunity to vote for their preferred candidates in the municipal elections.

One of the reasons why farming has been able to make such impressive strides in productivity in our lifetime is that farmers today have the tools and ability to access a vast amount of knowledge that can be applied to make informed production decisions.

At some point, even the greatest tragedies become old news and a protracted crisis loses its punch.