Mitigating risk to become a whole lot trickier
Scientists have been warning us that climate change will alter rainfall patterns. They say that dryland summer crops in central South Africa will be affected most by an increase in...
Raising SA’s ‘speed limit’
Prof Ricardo Hausmann, director of the Center for International Development at Harvard University and Venezuela’s former minister of planning, looks at the economic challenges facing South Africa. He delivered this...
Hero or villain – it’s all in the eyes of the beholder
Those of you following our news coverage of the allegations surrounding People’s Bio Oil (PBO) would know that we have been trying for weeks to obtain comment from owners Vusi...
A GPS to keep track of family and valuables
The GT300 can easily be carried in a pocket or placed in a vehicle.
Why credit ratings matter, even to farmers
When South Africa’s credit rating was left intact just before the festive season, a cautious sigh of relief reverberated throughout South Africa’s financial markets and government corridors. Why are credit...
Does the left hand know what the right is doing?
News coming out of the ANC’s National Executive Committee’s recent lekgotla is worrying. Minister Gugile Nkwinti’s 50/50 proposal was mentioned again, and the NEC is proposing that government implement land...
The value of experience
The summer crop season, which had a promising start, is turning out to be a tough one for farmers in my home province of North West.
Positive ways of lessening inequality
A recent newspaper report indicated that 1% of the world’s population would soon be wealthier than the rest of us combined.
The keys to unlocking Africa’s food potential
To feed its own population of two billion by 2044, let alone become the world’s breadbasket, Africa will have to rely on commercial farmers. So says Brienne van der Walt,...
Calling for more risk-takers
Recently, while driving between Jamestown and Molteno in the Eastern Cape on our way to visit my in-laws, my family and I came upon an astonishing sight – scores of...
Social media can work for your business
If you have an agricultural service or product to sell, you need social media.
Regulating antibiotic usage – Germany leads the way
The European Union is increasingly coming down hard on indiscriminate use of antibiotics in livestock production, posing many challenges for farmers. Speaking at EuroTier 2014 in Germany, Dr Hans-Joachim Götz,...
Are we nurturing our future farmers?
The matric results confirmed that my son’s career choice of becoming an engineer (he wants to build robots) is a good one.
Shopping at online app stores
Some apps are available only in certain countries, so a change in ID is needed.
Man vs wildlife: a balancing act
Roelof Bezuidenhout reacts to a recent Collaborative Partnership on Sustainable Wildlife Management (CPW) fact sheet dealing with human impact on wildlife and its ecological fallout.
New Year messages for 2015
Leaders in South African agriculture look back on the achievements and challenges of 2014 while anticipating the demands and opportunities of the year ahead.
Keep your eyes on the future
This time last year, large parts of South Africa were experiencing a drought said to be the worst in living memory.
Let’s join the renewable energy bandwagon
With the latest spate of load shedding on everyone’s lips, I once again realised it’s a crying shame that we don’t harness sunny and windy South Africa’s potential to be...
