Let them eat Fruit

The single-minded focus on increasing yield needs to make way for a multi-disciplinary approach which makes healthy food available to all, says Dr Stephanie Midgley, OneWorld Sustainable Investments lead researcher,...

Willing seller – the only way

The ANC’s policy decision to do away with the willing-buyer, willing-seller principle has caused dismay in the agricultural sector. But Dr Theo de Jager, deputy president of Agri SA, argues...

Price-taking: is a shift possible?

Don’t cut the economic cake into smaller slices. Make it bigger, says Roelof Bezuidenhout.

Milling industry faces tough time

Struggling consumers and high costs are threatening the milling industry, says NCM chairperson Billy Oosthuizen. Speaking at the chamber’s 77th AGM in mid-March, he called on members to act as...

Land reform: government calls for partnerships with farmers

Rural development and land reform are firmly on the government’s agenda, according to Mduduzi Shabane, director-general of the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR). Speaking at the 2013...

Steps to encourage the export of beneficiated products

For years, government has come under a steady stream of fire for allowing unprocessed, raw goods to leave South Africa’s shores, only to return as more pricey finished products.

A shift in pace for land reform?

Speaking in parliament during the debate on the State of the Nation address, minister of Rural Development and Land Refom, Gugile Nkwinti, rejected claims that land reform had failed.

Grain SA 2013 congress: suave and sophisticated

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – South Africa’s grain producers run a world class business! This is underscored by the very professional and, dare I say,...

The law can help with labour costs

Most farmers want to avoid having to retrench workers as a result of dramatically increased labour wages and costs associated with conditions of employment. Attorney Rob McCarthy, a specialist in...

SA food safety in jeopardy

Gareth Lloyd-Jones, MD of Ecowize, a health and sanitation company that services the food and beverage sector, believes South Africa needs a dedicated food control agency to ensure that regulations...

It’s time for Eskom to surrender power

Eskom is currently seeking further potentially crippling electricity price increases. Trade union Solidarity argues that new power provider entrants should be allowed to deal directly with consumers and have the...

Inky pinky ponky, SA’s been fed a donkey!

Oh boy, how I love the South African sense of humour! Even in the worst of situations it pops up and makes us laugh at ourselves. And the current scandal...

The Kruger Park’s jumbo jigsaw puzzle

Ron Thomson, conservationist, hunter, former game warden and author, takes aim at the Kruger’s no-cull elephant management strategy. The plan, he argues, is not only inhumane, but a sure way...

SA: reasons for optimism

Violent strikes. Hostility towards private enterprise. Corruption and ineptitude. Our country seems to be on a slippery slope. Yet the SAIRR’s Frans Cronje is bullish about South Africa.

Minimum wages: testing agriculture to the max

A report compiled by the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy, under the leadership of Dr Ferdi Meyer, argues that recent labour unrest in the farming sector is not about...

Agriculture leaders must ‘uithaal en wys’

Mr Organised Agriculture Chairman: complacency is a dangerous thing. Don’t underestimate the value of your support base. Do not lose contact with your membership on a local level.

Losing loyalty

Drawing on his own experience, as well as the work of agri writer Simon Fiske, top rose farmer Ludwig Taschner offers an interesting take on why land reform projects fail.

Cellphones and the Internet are great, but…

The world really has become a village. I’ve been on a virtual trip through southern Africa the past few months that’s been mind-boggling.

New Year messages

2012 has brought many challenges to the farming community and many of the problems will continue into 2013. Some agricultural union presidents share their messages of hope for farmers.

Will sanity prevail this year?

I don’t have any new resolutions for 2013, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t dream about a South Africa filled with love, light and laughter.

Opinion