It takes money to make and save money
With profit margins remaining under pressure, farmers need to pull out all the stops to stay in business.
It’s not just about the money
In the struggle to eradicate poverty and hunger, the most important factor is people, not money. Unless a country is willing to better itself, no donor institution will succeed in...
Reinstating trust in negotiations
Over the past few weeks, Agri SA members across the country gathered at the organisation’s provincial conferences to discuss those issues most pressing to farmers.
Why farmers should drive with their radios on
No, not to listen to the latest Taylor Swift liedjie, or to take pride in the fact that you were out of bed and, after having had coffee with a...
A microcosm of SA agriculture
The 14 August issue of Farmer's Weekly is a microcosm of South Africa’s agricultural sector.
Dust, spray and eradicate
First it was drones. Now unmanned helicopters could become the next big thing.
Our strengths, our problems and our future
SA has economic opportunities, but tough challenges. For farmers, positives are a sizeable domestic market and top local suppliers, says Wessel Lemmer, senior agricultural economist at Absa.
Praying for rain
I had just started writing about South Africa missing out on trade opportunities while its southern hemisphere competitors wasted no time filling the gaps that opened up in international markets...
Look up to the clouds for your administrative solutions
A few minor tweaks can always save a lot of time, money and effort. And it’s not just about changing the way we physically do some of the things on...
Sustaining the SA trout industry
South Africa’s trout industry has a meaningful socioeconomic role to play in the country’s future, says llan Lax, chairperson of the Federation of SA Flyfishers.
Don’t dismiss smallholder farming
I started writing for Farmer’s Weekly about seven years ago. At that time, I was inclined to follow the school of thought which asserted that smallholder farming was a poverty...
Land reform – let’s stay out of the boxing ring
SA’s land reform debacle could destroy everything achieved since 1994, warns communications expert Prof David Venter. He was speaking at the recent Hortgro Science Symposium held near Franschhoek.
The future of meat processing is here
New robot technology can debone breasts at a rate of 1 500 chickens per hour.
‘We need experienced positive people’ – Gwede Mantashe
Speaking on strategy to Eastern Cape farmers, ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe stressed that white commercial farmers were the key to successful transformation. Moreover, rational and positive debate was needed to...
Interactive & environmentally friendly
Instantly available, digital magazines are becoming ever more popular, says Greg Miles.
Cleaner energy should be our focus
Last month, Germany closed down yet another nuclear power station. This was done without affecting the country’s energy-generating capacity as the plant had already been replaced by alternative energy sources...
Things won’t change by themselves
It was seven years ago that South Africa’s shortage of power generating capability first became evident with electricity blackouts.
Uniting for growth – government and farmers
KZN MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development Cyril Xaba recently addressed farmers at the KZN Poultry Institute in Pietermaritzburg, sharing his strategy of forming partnerships in the sector.
A robot to watch over your vegetables
Designed Down Under, this is the latest advance in automated crop management.
Reluctant protectors of the law
The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, the supreme law of the land, allows most of us to sleep a little easier.
