Opinion

The SA beef sector must improve production efficiencies to remain viable, according to former FNB agricultural advisor Jan de Jong. Speaking at a Brangus Information Day in KwaZulu-Natal, he pointed out that beef prices have remained unchanged since 2007. Compiled by Lloyd Phillips.

South Africa’s sugar industry has finally been given the go-ahead to submit formal proposals on their plans to produce renewable energy on a large scale. The SA Sugar Association’s Dr Marilyn Govender tells us what might be in store.

Without first determining a country’s carrying capacity, it’s no use in speaking enthusiastically about ‘growth’ and a ‘sustainable future’, says Ritchie Morris.

Increased emphasis will be placed on the reduction of methane gas emissions from livestock in the future, according to Prof Michiel Scholtz, ARC Specialist Researcher: Applied Animal Breeding. He says that livestock production both contributes to the problem and suffers from the effects.

I call upon our farming community, commercial or otherwise, not to spend any sleepless nights on the Malemas of our country.

Basing a business strategy on long-term economic forecasts is about as safe as using tea leaves and crystal balls, says Theo Vorster, CEO of Galileo Capital.

I really hope heaven looks like the Kruger Park. I’ve been going to that magical place for nearly a zillion years and should by now be used to coming back to reality after a visit to God’s farm, as the little ones in my family call it. But, alas, I find it more difficult to leave every year.

According to Andrew Makenete, CEO of Manama Hole Holdings and Calico Capital, South African agriculture is currently operating in a policy vacuum. Speaking at a Friends of UKZN Agric lunch at KwaZulu-Natal’s Royal Show recently, he expanded on the problem and offered some potential solutions.

Their forefathers were the first to step on South African soil, and their modern-day descendants are finally being compensated for the land they were dispossessed of, says Raymond Trollip, leader of KwaZulu-Natal’s diverse Khoi and San descendants.

Speaking recently at a KZN Agricultural Union Special Information Day, Grain SA chairperson Louw Steytler said that the voice of reason would prevail when it came to the country’s land reform and labour legislation.

The number of anti-dumping investigations has risen over the past year amid fierce competition for the food trade. But Alexander Amrein, senior investigator for the International Trade Administration Commission (Itac), says this is not a sign of a global move towards protectionism.

While the mainstream media invariably focuses on the negative aspects of life in South Africa, longer-term trends indicate a silver lining for our beloved country, according to Steuart Pennington, creator of alternative media organisation South Africa: The Good News.

I blame the past few difficult weeks in my life on Johan van der Nest and his passion for the Droughtmaster breed... Oops! I’m not allowed to say that. Sorry, I’ll start again...

Local soil scientists are refuting the relevance of this 70-year-old system when advances in soil science point to its lack of scientific value and many shortcomings in field conditions.

In this brief summary of an innovative model for land reform in South Africa, farmer and former DA MP Errol Moorcroft demonstrates that, despite the inherent difficulties, the redistribution of land can be a win/win undertaking for all concerned.

Germany has much to offer South Africa in sharing knowledge gained during its post-reunification period. Ilse Aigner, federal minister of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, explains.

Oh boy, the cat was really let loose among the pigeons at this year’s Nampo Harvest Day with political commentator Max du Preez claiming that the time has come for farmers to re-evaluate deputy minister of agriculture Dr Pieter Mulder’s ‘relevance’ in commercial agriculture.

“The country will not be a good place for any of us, unless it’s a good place for all of us,” argues business consultant André Diederichs. He believes that considerable wage increases and other short-term solutions are ultimately unfair to all role players in the agricultural sector, and will cause harm.

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, and Prof Martin de Wit, De Wit Sustainable Options director.

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 that this attempt by the government to save the faltering land reform process is doomed to fail.