Farmers must lobby govt, now
With the current global financial turmoil and concern over food security, it’s time to press government for support, Kwanalu president Brian Aitken said at the union’s congress in Pietermaritzburg on...
Boosting the biofuels industry
The energy minister recently gazetted the mandatory blending of biofuels at minimum concentrations of 5% for biodiesel and 2% to 10% for bio-ethanol. Once outstanding issues are resolved, this should...
Who’s educating consumers?
Ill-informed consumers who demand less crop protection chemicals and have irrational fears of genetically modified food are a risk to farmer’s survival. Who is taking responsibility to ensure that the...
The latest South African scenarios
South Africa could go down a number of paths in the next five years. Strategist and author Clem Sunter outlined these scenarios at the recent PestBiz congress in Durban.
Should meat be on the menu?
Australian agricultural journalist David Mason-Jones addresses what every farmer and environmentalist needs to know about livestock and global warming in his recently published book, Should Meat Be on the Menu?
Where does the NDP fit into NDR?
During a recent parliamentary debate on the National Development Plan, IFP leader and founder Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi criticised the government over its eagerness to draw up plans for development that...
Ethics and transformation as marketing tools
Compliance with transformation and ethical codes in agriculture has become a very costly exercise – but it appears that consumers and, especially, retailers are increasingly supporting compliant producers. Phil Bowes,...
Farming for the urban rich
Many a successful businessperson or professional is turning to farming these days. Veteran agricultural journalist George Nicholas thinks he knows why.
Food safety compromised by lack of glyphosate tests
South Africa is unable to conduct proper tests for glyphosphate residues on food – and until this capacity exists, glyphosate should not be allowed in food production, says Mariam Mayet,...
A lifetime of waiting – in vain
In this open letter to Minister Gugile Nkwinti, farmer Gideon Morule argues that government land policy aimed at blacks is as oppressive as apartheid laws.
Freedom for all
All property ownership will be affected if property rights protection is removed from the Constitution, says Temba Nolutshungu, a director of the Free Market Foundation.
Adopt sustainable practices
Ant Muirhead, a 72-year-old Winterton, KwaZulu-Natal farmer says farmers should use no-till on their lands in order to farm sustainably – immediately.
Balancing self-interest in new relationships
The chicken import dispute between Brazil and South Africa is unlikely to upset newly formed geo-political alliances – for now, says Saliem Fakir, independent writer for the South African Civil...
Where is the policy REVOLUTION?
Government does not understand agriculture. This is clear in its obsession with implementing short-sighted policies that focus on detail and unnecessarily complicate farming. Lindi van Rooyen looks at examples of...
Revolutionising inequality
The National Democratic Revolution (NDR) has long been put forward as a way for the ANC to fix the ills of the past and ensure a more equal society. But...
Giving the seven billionth person enough to eat
Feeding the growing world population is a major challenge – yet far from impossible. At the recent Agricultural Business Chamber’s Congress in KwaZulu-Natal, Brazilian market strategist Prof Marcos Fava Neves...
Restitution in a cul-de-sac
The land reform process is going nowhere slowly with more unresolved land claims gazetted now than ever before. Dr Theo de Jager, deputy president of Agri SA, details the destruction...
Programme exploits workers
Government’s flagship job creation programme funds a number of labour-intensive programmes which benefit agriculture, such as the removal of alien plants and the patching up of rural roads. But the...
Will a Grexit affect SA’s farmers?
With Greece on the brink of ditching the euro and financial markets on the edge due to uncertainty, Jaco Visser looks at two possible scenarios that could play themselves out.
Shame on them!
DA spokesperson for rural development and land reform, Athol Trollip’s response to minister Gugile Nkwinti’s budget speech for 2012/2013.
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