Opinion

Roelof Bezuidenhout reacts to a recent Collaborative Partnership on Sustainable Wildlife Management (CPW) fact sheet dealing with human impact on wildlife and its ecological fallout.

Leaders in South African agriculture look back on the achievements and challenges of 2014 while anticipating the demands and opportunities of the year ahead.

This time last year, large parts of South Africa were experiencing a drought said to be the worst in living memory.

With the latest spate of load shedding on everyone’s lips, I once again realised it’s a crying shame that we don’t harness sunny and windy South Africa’s potential to be a leader in this field.

I love to sing and I love the glow of candles, so, unsurprisingly, I enjoy carols by candlelight.

SA smallholder farmers have access to the best research, the most comprehensive supply of inputs, and the most sophisticated financial sector in Africa. Now is the time for them to wean themselves off government support and take charge of their future. Jaco Visser looks at ways to achieve this.

Dr Piet Croucamp, political analyst and Namibian sheep farmer, spoke to farmers at Agri Limpopo’s annual congress on agriculture in South Africa over the next 20 years.

Knowing what brand of wine we are drinking influences most of us in how we taste and enjoy it.

At the Afasa congress in Pretoria earlier this year, agriculture minister Senzeni Zokwana made a strong case for sensible, ongoing discussions between stakeholders, and the return to a good work ethic in the public sector. These, he said, are important for effective transformation in agriculture.

Depending on whom you ask, Theo de Jager’s being voted out of the deputy presidency at AgriSA can be interpreted as anything from serious internal differences within the organisation to one man simply being more popular than another.

The mentorship of new farmers is more than mere teaching – it is about building a relationship based on commitment. Agricultural economist at the University of Pretoria, Dr Fanie Terblanche, explains the challenging relationship between the mentor and mentee, and why many programmes succeed where others fail.

As thousands of matriculants and university students sit down to write their final exams, I bet they’re thinking about the day they can begin making their own way in the world.