By Invitation

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.

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.

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.

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.