Opinion

It must be at least six years ago now that I first became aware of the real scope of one of the many harassments that farmers face.

During the Agribusiness Africa conference hosted by Farmer’s Weekly, Dr Riaan du Preez, manager of scientific affairs at Afrivet, highlighted a disturbing statistic about cow conception on the continent: six out of 10 cows in Africa do not produce calves. He spoke about the dangers this poses for food security, as well as possible solutions to the problem.

As I write this, only one day has passed since thousands of South Africans took part in peaceful protests to say that they had had enough of crime, enough of constantly living with the fear that they or their loved ones would be the next victims of murderers, rapists, burglars or other assailants that have for too long terrorised the people of this country.

One plus one normally adds up to two. Unless you look at the performance of our departments of agriculture and land affairs.

When we speak about the challenges of farming, we almost invariably talk about economic difficulties such as the cost-price squeeze and attaining economies of scale.

South Africa needs leaders from all sectors of the economy who are proactive, imaginative and understanding of the economic difficulties the country faces. This was according to former finance minister and current member of parliament, Pravin Gordhan, speaking at the 11th Agribusiness Africa Conference, hosted by Farmer’s Weekly in Johannesburg.

These past two years have been some of the toughest ever for SA agribusinesses hit by supply constraints due to drought. These businesses have also been affected by cheap imports, low commodity prices, and the effect of the lacklustre economy on consumer spending behaviour.

Climate expert Johan van den Berg recently addressed the Northern Cape Red Meat Producers’ Organisation congress on the outlook for climatic conditions in the future, and how to manage the associated risks. He highlighted the differences between climate change and climate variability and suggested how farmers could factor this into their planning.

On first impressions, it is difficult not to be envious of the Swiss and begrudge them their seemingly easy lives. It is one of the most peaceful and prosperous countries in the world, the scenery is achingly beautiful, and even the livestock wear jewellery too expensive for me to afford.

The “Agricultural outlook 2017-2026” report, compiled by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, as well as the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, forecasts that over the next decade, demand for agricultural products will slow considerably, causing real prices of most agricultural and fish commodities to follow a slightly declining trend, thereby keeping them below previous peaks.

One of the greatest frustrations farmers face in modern agricultural value chains is that they are, to a large extent, relegated to being price-takers.

In May this year, The Economist ran a cover story that said that the world’s most valuable resource is no longer oil, but data.

Improving the efficiency of smallholder farmers in Africa is necessary not only to help grow African economies, but also to improve the livelihoods of these farmers and their families. However, research has found that not all farming models aimed at helping smallholder farmers increase production and link in to commercial value chains, are appropriately structured to reach this goal.

Labour relations in the farming sector made headlines again these past few weeks after news broke of an unscrupulous labour broker operating from a farm in Wesselsbron in the Free State.

Not to take anything away from the remarkable way in which large-scale commercial agriculture has managed to improve production efficiencies (for the past two decades, yield growth has far outstripped resource use), but every now and then we need to pause and re-evaluate the path we are on.

Speaking at the AVI Africa Poultry conference, Christo van der Rheede, deputy executive officer at Agri SA, questioned government’s commitment to land reform. In particular, he criticised its protracted and fragmented approach, and offered suggestions on sustainable land restitution.

James Martin, an independent agricultural transformation consultant and facilitator, says that transformation is a critical goal, but expecting power imbalances and prejudice to simply disappear is unreasonable. He believes that real change will only happen once we start changing human behaviour to shift perceptions, so that we can meet as equals.

You would probably not be able to guess this if you met me today, but when I was at school and during my years at university, I spent as much time as I could at the beach, surfing.

I cannot imagine a greater childhood than growing up on a farm.

Chinese consumers’ growing affinity for wine, particularly imports from international premium wine producers, presents a growth opportunity for the South African wine industry, according to research conducted by Buyambo Mantashe of agriculture investment company, MM Agrivestment.