Agriculture budget speech
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.
Ineptitude or blatant discrimination?
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...
Constitution under threat?
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...
Decades on – still paying the Cubans
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...
Rural reform through co-ops
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.
GM crops riding high
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...
What needs to be done to ensure food security in SA
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...
Is intra-African trade the only answer?
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.
What the proposed land laws mean for you
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,...
SA port tariffs squeeze exporters
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...
Does SA need regional copyrights?
Dinga Fatman, researcher at Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies, warns that Geographic Indication is not a quick fix to your bottom line.
Agribusiness: the 2012 agenda
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...
Can the ANC survive rampant food inflation?
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...
If we fail to talk, we’ll fail SA
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...
Seed industry loses out
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,...
SA farmers: An asset to our people, a liability to our leaders
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...
Fight agricultural stereotyping
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...
Why we need a food revolution
With the planet's human population expected to reach 9 billion by 2050, agriculture must rise to the challenge of meeting the massive demand for food. Professor Aidan Connolly, vice-president of...
How our Constitution ensures land for all
Julius Malema's talk of changing the Constitution to allow for land grabs is merely a case of "opening one's mouth to change feet". A brief perusal of our Constitution shows...
The year ahead
Agri SA president Johannes Möller's New Year message to farmers is one of optimism and opportunity.
