Opinion

In a recent presentation to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee for Agriculture, Rural Development and Land Reform, the Auditor-General reported that the department of agriculture and related entities had R46,3 million in fruitless and wasteful expenditure in the 2019/2020 financial year.

Demand for nuts is set to continue growing strongly worldwide, but this does not mean the industry can grow complacent about improving production efficiencies. This is the opinion of Axel Breuer, CEO of AgroPress, which publishes The Clipper, an international magazine dealing with nut and dried fruit production and processing.

While gene editing has the potential to reduce human suffering, irresponsible use could be devastating, according to Dr Jamie Metzl, futurist and author.

I was 10 or 11 years old when I saw, for the first time, a grown man cry. Back then, the only veterinarian in town had an office across the road from the library.

Pierre Cloete, CEO International Wealth & Prosperity, writes that the future of South Africa is gloomy and that investors and workers need to protect themselves by diversifying their portfolios with offshore investments.

Land reform has, for the most part, been somewhat in limbo since Cyril Ramaphosa became president in 2018. But the recent announcement by Minister Thoko Didiza of the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development and Land Reform (agriculture department) that 896 farms, measuring 700 000ha, of underutilised or vacant state land would be made available to the public has certainly got the ball rolling on land reform.

The re-evaluation of government spending, although much needed, will not be enough to address South Africa’s immense economic challenges. There also needs to be stronger political will and leadership to address poor implementation, writes Dr John Purchase, CEO of the Agricultural Business Chamber.

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 the state in rural development.

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 achieve household-level food security in South Africa, writes Dr Sifiso Ntombela, chief economist at the National Agricultural Marketing Council.

The positive growth trend in agricultural GDP so far this year has failed to translate into an increase in employment in the agriculture sector.

Scientists have recently observed signs of possible life in the thick cloud cover that envelopes our neighbouring planet, Venus.

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.

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 and government endeavour to celebrate the role of women in society, and to highlight the challenges they still face in their work and personal lives.

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 agricultural transformation programmes.

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 future.

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 achieved in the sector despite the general sense of doom surrounding our country’s economic and political future.

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 boost exports, writes Roux Wildenboer, head of agriculture at Absa Corporate and Investment Banking.

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 over 200 000 violent home robberies occurred.

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 an existing farming operation, or even by investing in industries unrelated to agriculture, says Dawie Maree, head of information and marketing at FNB Agriculture.

Something needs to change, otherwise Africa and the people who live on this continent will experience another decade of poverty, hunger and hardship.