Swiss farming: not as easy as it looks
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...
Global food demand and prices to decrease over next decade
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,...
Co-ops the answer for smallholders?
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.
The importance of data in agriculture
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.
Farming in Africa: bigger is not always better, studies show
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,...
Agriculture’s labour time bomb
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...
How many harvests are left in your soil?
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...
Take a cue from Asia on successful land reform
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...
Resolving agriculture’s transformation deadlock
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...
South Africa is slipping…
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...
China’s love affair with wine, and how SA can benefit
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...
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