Opinion

During the first week of January, the University of Oxford in the UK hosted the annual Oxford Farming Conference. Reading through some of the presentations given at the event, I was reminded of how globalised the challenges and opportunities in farming have become.

Globally, consumers of animal products are increasingly demanding that livestock farmers implement ethical and humane practices. This can be challenging for farmers, but is possible to achieve. Dr Siegfried Moder, president of Germany’s Federal Association of Practising Veterinarians, elaborates.

Stakeholders in South Africa’s goat value-chain are determined to grow their sector into a profitable and sustainable industry to benefit farmers and the economy. Johan Steyn, owner of Patriot Boer Goat Stud in the Eastern Cape, discusses how this can be achieved.

The informal sector is crucial in giving people access to food. Yet it is often underestimated and, as a result, disregarded, say researchers Caroline Skinner and Gareth Haysom.

New Year’s resolutions may seem passé, but they can be a great way of at least attempting to implement what is known as the Urgent-Important Matrix in your life.

The Global Seed Vault, the brainchild of scientist and conservationist Cary Fowler, was built nearly 150m into the side of a mountain in Svalbard, Norway, in 2008.

To bridge the wealth gap in South Africa, it makes more sense to consolidate small plots into economically viable units than trying to raise the production levels of subsistence farming. So says Willem Cronje, a farmer and political and economic commentator based in Zastron in the Free State.

Finally, we have come to the end of a year that has tested farmers in this country like no other year before, and I am reminded of the poet, Robert Frost, who said, “in three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.”

Agriculture must contribute more to combating climate change while bracing to overcome its impacts, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) report ‘The State of Food and Agriculture 2016’.

I recently asked Agbiz CEO, Dr John Purchase, whether or not, all things considered, he would, in good conscience, advise someone with no current investment in agriculture to go ahead and buy a farm in South Africa.

Game breeding has become a highly specialised industry that requires the same level of scientific management as livestock production to ensure long-term genetic gain and avoid inbreeding. SA Stud Book geneticist, Dr Helena Theron, and SA Stud Book manager of production recording, Dr Japie van der Westhuizen, explain.

South Africans are nervously awaiting the announcement by ratings agencies on whether the country has retained its sovereign credit rating, or if it has been downgraded to junk status.