Opinion

Hans Vermaak, president of the Professional Hunters’ Association of South Africa (Phasa), explains why he is worried about Botswana’s looming hunting ban.

By 2030, the world will have one billion more mouths to feed. To meet this growing food need, we require a sustainable, enabling agricultural environment. Can this be achieved in 17 years? Nedbank Capital’s Zhann Meyer thinks it can, but we need to act now.

Boeta, with genetics and genomics being the buzzwords of the century, let me tell you the story of Robert Bakewell, the farmer from Leicestershire who transformed the quality of Britain's cattle, horses and sheep.

Australia is using broadband to revitalise farming. SA is falling behind, warns Santam’s Gerhard Diedericks.

At the recent National Emergent Red Meat Producers’ Organisation’s annual general meeting, Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform Gugile Nkwinti spoke about the reasons for some of the department’s policies.

The past year in agriculture has been fraught with labour unrest and tense negotiations between organised agriculture and the state. Speaking at Agri SA’s annual congress in Pretoria, the organisation’s president, Johannes Möller, spoke about how realism was needed on both sides.

I’ve tried and tried and tried again to find something positive to blog about this week. I’ve watched the news like a hawk and read every newspaper I could lay my hands on, but, alas, the fact that our government made R100 million available for drought relief in Namibia stuck out like a sore thumb.

According to Charles Darwin, the success of a species is not determined by its relative strength or intelligence, but by its ability to adapt to change. The same applies to countries, businesses and individuals, says former president FW de Klerk.

There are seven billion people on earth today. It is estimated that by 2050, this will have increased to nine billion. Aidan Connolly of Alltech and Kate Phillips-Connolly of the Centre for Global Business Systems, Trinity College, discuss the role of agribusinesses in feeding this mega-population.

I stand corrected! Grain SA’s Baas Jannie has pointed out that he never implied that Agri SA is jealous of Grain SA.

Addressing the Kwanalu congress last month, chairperson Brian Aitken urged farmers to share their skills with staff and developing farmers. This would help to create greater security and certainty in the commercial farming sector.

Game ranchers are unhappy with the idea of treating certain indigenous species as aliens, writes Roelof Bezuidenhout.

Agh nee man! Why the remarks about Agri SA in the latest Grain SA newsletter? Baas Jannie, you might have had very good reasons for saying that Grain SA’s relationship with Agri SA is slipping, but how can you justify going public about it?

Trout, carp and bass, introduced to SA more than 100 years ago, are now listed as invasive alien species. Fly fisherman Ian Cox talks about the impact of this on the freshwater fishing industry.

Demand for healthy protein has put game meat on the menu. It’s leaner than domestic livestock meat and has other health benefits, says Dr Maretha van der Merwe, consultant to WRSA.

Do you think it’s at all possible to take emotion out of the agriculture equation?

At a recent symposium on the safety of genetically modified (GM) crops, Dr Pieter Mulder, deputy agricultural minister, asked that views on the technology be based on sound scientific facts and not emotion.

Rearing high-value game animals under intensive conditions has both pros and cons, writes Roelof Bezuidenhout.

Spring has arrived in more ways than one! After the recent Agri North West congress I feel as if commercial agriculture is moving into a spring time of its own, despite all the negatives farmers have to face on a daily basis. And that’s all because of the spirit of renewal I noticed among delegates, especially the younger ones.

South Africa is expected to lose its self-sufficiency in food within a decade. Environmental advisor and author Dr Anthony Turton recently laid out his expectations.