By Invitation

To bridge the wealth gap in South Africa, it makes more sense to consolidate small plots into economically viable units than trying to raise the production levels of subsistence farming. So says Willem Cronje, a farmer and political and economic commentator based in Zastron in the Free State.

Agriculture must contribute more to combating climate change while bracing to overcome its impacts, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) report ‘The State of Food and Agriculture 2016’.

Game breeding has become a highly specialised industry that requires the same level of scientific management as livestock production to ensure long-term genetic gain and avoid inbreeding. SA Stud Book geneticist, Dr Helena Theron, and SA Stud Book manager of production recording, Dr Japie van der Westhuizen, explain.

Natural gas exploration, changing voting patterns and new technologies are some of the issues that need to be closely monitored by the agricultural sector.

Outgoing president of Namibia’s Livestock Producers’ Organisation (LPO), Mecki Schneider, looks back on the highs and lows of 2016, and calls for ‘smarter’ farming and rangeland rehabilitation.

John Kane-Berman, former CEO of the Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR) and currently a policy fellow at the institute, shares his views on unbundling and privatising Eskom.

As the impact of an extended period of drought across Southern Africa continues, the concern is setting in among commercial and small-scale farmers that a water-constrained environment may no longer be a short-term challenge.

Maria Andrade, one of the winners of the World Food Prize 2016, explains why crop diversification is essential for agriculture in Africa, and highlights the benefits of introducing new staple food crops to farms and diets.

According to Alex Cilliers, executive manager at GWK Meat, the decrease in consumer demand for lamb and mutton can no longer be blamed on the drought or consumer taste.

To achieve success in Africa as a primary producer or agribusiness, you must make yourself indispensable to the local community, according to Dr Jack Armour, Free State Agriculture operations manager.

Daniel Njiwa, the Zambian representative for FoodTrade East and Southern Africa (FoodTrade ESA), writes that soya beans are one of the world’s most important and tradeable oilseeds. According to him, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has much to gain from the development of stronger relationships among regional soya bean value chain members.

The devastation caused by veld fires in the Free State was evidence that a new approach to the management and suppression of fires was needed, according to Malcolm Procter, the department of agriculture’s deputy-director of Forest and Veld Fire in Bloemfontein.