Cutting the waste from the agriculture department’s budget
Tshepo Moloi and Prof Johann Kirsten of the Bureau for Economic Research at Stellenbosch University suggest that a zero-based budgeting approach could offer an opportunity to reassess the role of...
Why SA needs commercial and smallholder farmers
While growth and development initiatives have tended to focus on growing the commercial farming sector, a new school of thought argues for the coexistence of smallholder and commercial farmers to...
COVID-19 erases hard-won job gains
The positive growth trend in agricultural GDP so far this year has failed to translate into an increase in employment in the agriculture sector.
Living as we do is killing our world
Scientists have recently observed signs of possible life in the thick cloud cover that envelopes our neighbouring planet, Venus.
Agri GDP better, but not at its best
There weren’t many surprises, nor much good news, among the second-quarter (Q2) GDP results that were released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) during the second week of September.
A reflection on ‘women’s month’
August has passed and with it we bid goodbye to the month which, every year, is marked by numerous overtures to women, some earnest and some opportunistic, as companies, organisations...
Struggle to access water behind many land reform failures
There are a few common threads that run through most stories of those people who have, over the past 25 years, benefitted from one of South Africa’s land reform and...
Agriculture: shining light or fading star?
For most industries, 2020 will probably be a particularly bad year with an abrupt fall in performance, but this should be followed by some degree of recovery in the near...
South Africa: Top of the economic misery list
One of the great things about being an agricultural journalist during this time of crisis is that we often still get to report good news, thanks to the victories being...
What COVID-19 has taught us about food security
The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasised the importance of agriculture in South Africa and across the continent because of the sector’s capacity to support economic growth, create and sustain jobs, and...
South Africa is getting more violent
Over the past 10 years, more than 6,1 million serious crimes were committed against South Africans. At least 165 837 people were murdered, rape was committed 437 417 times, and...
Diversification: an essential approach in a tough economy
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket; if you fall, you run the risk of not having breakfast. Farmers should spread their risk by adding a second component to...
Africa is falling further behind
Something needs to change, otherwise Africa and the people who live on this continent will experience another decade of poverty, hunger and hardship.
It doesn’t rain grass!
As I write this, it's been about four months since South Africa went into a national lockdown in an attempt to contain the spread of COVID-19.
Tackling crime along the South Africa-Lesotho border
The strip of land spanning just over 900km along the Lesotho-South Africa border remains a source of economic loss and trauma for the many rural South Africans living there. Sabrina...
Sorting fact from fiction
One of the problems that always emerge when we start debating the role and future of smallholder farming is that there is no clear definition put in place to describe...
Co-op or corporate? Choose between these agri models
Agribusiness VKB, which has been doing business in South Africa for over a century, started as a co-operative, but has since been converted into a company. Managing director Koos Janse...
When the hungry steal food
About seven or eight years ago, I interviewed a farmer who produced vegetables on a farm in Philippi in Cape Town. The area was and still is one of the...
A zero-based budget for the agri department
The grim realities that were presented by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni when he delivered the Supplementary Budget to Parliament recently did not come as a surprise.
Why the world’s drylands need urgent protection
Drylands are home to two billion people, many of whom are poor and depend directly on the land’s resources for food and energy. Drylands also generate crucial environmental services and...
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