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, director of the African Centre for Biosafety.
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 Society Information Service.
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 how small tweaks in agricultural policies in
countries abroad have helped those nations flourish.
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 Dr Anthea Jeffery, specialist research consultant at the SA Institute for Race Relations, argues that full implementation
of the NDR will undermine the Constitution and betray the bright hopes of the 1994 transition.
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 of the University of São Paulo released a book outlining solutions to the problem.
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 that an inadequate system has caused and what is needed to fix it.
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 workers themselves benefit the least, says social commentator Glenn Ashton.
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.
