Opinion

While Africa is rich in resources, it still lags behind much of the world in many socio-economic aspects. Kofi Annan, former secretary-general of the United Nations and founding chairperson of the Kofi Annan Foundation, was the keynote speaker at the Nestlé Creating Shared Value Forum 2016 held recently in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. He shared his views on what needs to be done to improve Africa’s economies and communities.

All praise to Lindie Stroebel and her team at the Produce Marketing Association: Southern Africa, who organised the PMA Fresh Connections: Southern Africa Conference & Expo 2016 held in Pretoria recently.

North Waikato dairy farmer Tony Walters says that wireless technology can now be used to prove that New Zealand dairy farmers are farming in an environmentally sustainable manner.

Nico Strydom and Jean Struweg, researchers in the Department of Finance and Investment Management at the University of Johannesburg, recently published an article in Agrekon, titled, ‘Malthus revisited: Long-term Trends in South African Population Growth and Agricultural Output’. The paper discusses whether the agricultural sector can sustain South Africa’s rapidly increasing population.

South Africa is currently faced with a paralysed, narrow and inward-looking leadership, according to political analyst and former leader of the Democratic Alliance, Tony Leon.

WhatsApp was launched in 2009 by former Yahoo employees Brian Acton and Jan Koum. In February 2014, Facebook purchased the app for US$19 billion (about R280 billion).

On 7 May, the first-ever AgBot (agricultural robotics) competition was held in the US on Gerrish Farms, one of the oldest family-owned farms in Indiana.

This week, South Africans will have the opportunity to vote for their preferred candidates in the municipal elections.

With the speed at which the world is changing, it is difficult to predict the effects that advancing technology, increased access to information and consumers’ demands for personalised products will have on the agriculture sector. Ernst Janovsky, head of Absa’s AgriBusiness Centre of Excellence, discusses possible implications.

One of the reasons why farming has been able to make such impressive strides in productivity in our lifetime is that farmers today have the tools and ability to access a vast amount of knowledge that can be applied to make informed production decisions.

Political uncertainty, climate change, water shortages, poor economic growth, and the Fourth Industrial Revolution are reshaping the way that industries are operating. The Western Cape Minister of Economic Opportunities, Alan Winde, challenged delegates at the Red Meat Abattoir Association annual general meeting held in Stellenbosch, to ready themselves for these changes.

At some point, even the greatest tragedies become old news and a protracted crisis loses its punch.