By Invitation

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.

DA spokesperson for rural development and land reform, Athol Trollip’s response to minister Gugile Nkwinti’s budget speech for 2012/2013.

The days of the minister of Mineral Resources granting permission to mining companies to operate on farm land against farmers’ wishes seem to be over, thanks to the Constitutional Court’s landmark interpretation of two pieces of legislation. Jaco Visser looks at recent judgements.

Food security and job creation were highlighted in the department’s budget, with special attention given to capacity building. Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson details how R5,8 billion will be spent.

Recent court cases dealing with water use licences to farmers were a slap in the face for the Department of Water Affairs. The courts held, in effect, that the department’s method of looking solely at a water use licence applicant’s race was wrong. Jaco Visser looked at the judgements.

Our Constitution has been hailed everywhere as an example to all divided societies of what can be achieved by rational debate, compromise and goodwill, but now it seems as if the ANC wants to sweep all of this away, warns former state president FW de Klerk.

South Africa’s grant of R40 million to Cuban farmers for seed purchases is baffling when local farmers’ requests for subsidies have been denied. Lindi van Rooyen asks when the Cuban ‘struggle’ debt will finally be paid.

The UN has proclaimed 2012 the International Year of Co-operatives and, according to Langa Zita, director-general of the department of agriculture, co-ops are central to agricultural development.

South African plantings of genetically modified crops are surging ahead without any evidence of ill-effects on humans, animals, or the environment, said Dr Pieter Mulder, deputy minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, at a recent biotech crop press conference in Pretoria.

Too many people in SA still do not get enough to eat. To attain ‘zero-hunger’, organisations such as Grain SA need to work with government to ensure enough affordable food for our nation, says Derek Hanekom, deputy minister of science and technology.

Bonani Nyhodo, researcher at the National Agricultural Marketing Council, says EU-Africa trade liberalisation will be of little benefit to the continent. Africa must build its infrastructure and trade internally.

It’s crucial for farmers to know what’s expected of them once the proposed land legislation becomes law. Land occupiers will be given greater rights, but it’s not all bad news, says labour and land lawyer Rob McCarthy of McCarthy and Associates in KwaZulu-Natal.

Transnet’s proposed 18,06% increase in port dues will probably be implemented by the middle of the year. Mihalis Chasomeris, economics lecturer at the Graduate School of Business & Leadership, University of KZN, explains how South Africa’s port pricing is impeding trade.

Dinga Fatman, researcher at Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies, warns that Geographic Indication is not a quick fix to your bottom line.

Various challenges are expected in agriculture for the year ahead. The local economy is faced with addressing unemployment while also attempting to achieve economic growth. The Agricultural Business Chamber recently released its expectations for 2012.

Because food prices are a combination of many factors, they’re a good indicator of a country’s economy. What’s more, food inflation affects different consumers very differently. For the affluent, food accounts for a small part of their salaries, while the poorest can spend over a third of their income to feed their families. An inability to put food on the table will increase social grievances, which will affect the ANC’s popularity, says Saliem Fakir, an independent columnist for the SA Civil Society Information Service.

There should be no dispute regarding the ultimate objective of agricultural development. If it's not possible to work together, and if role players have divergent motives and hidden agendas, the country is going to be in big trouble, says Agri SA president Johannes Möller.

The rejection of a merger between Pioneer Hi-Bred and SA's Pannar Seed is based on fallacious assumptions and will deprive South Africa of affordable seed technology, thus affecting food security, contends the former chief executive officer of Grain SA, Dr Kobus Laubscher

Year after year, commercial farmers prove their worth by feeding the nation. Yet they remain the target of ANC politicians determined to force through unworkable ideologies. This is a grave threat to food security and even political stability. Ben Marais, president of TAU SA, explains.

Stereotypical ideas about farmers and agriculture have resulted in many unfavourable decisions in parliament regarding the sector. Dr Pieter Mulder, deputy minister of agriculture, explains why these stereotypes must be abolished before commercial agriculture can grow.