Opinion

Skêlm, cunning, clever... that is Canis mesomelas, better known as the black-backed jackal. I know I might be putting my foot in it, but I have a grudging respect for this wily creature.

The UN has proclaimed 2012 the International Year of Co-operatives and, according to Langa Zita, director-general of the department of agriculture, co-ops are central to agricultural development.

Why on God’s green earth would anybody want to hurl a petrol bomb into the cabin of 36-year-old Christo van Rensburg’s bakkie? What could have been the motive behind such an abhorrent action?

South African plantings of genetically modified crops are surging ahead without any evidence of ill-effects on humans, animals, or the environment, said Dr Pieter Mulder, deputy minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, at a recent biotech crop press conference in Pretoria.

Heard of ‘flash trading’? No? Neither have I and the majority of grain producers in the country. Well, Boeta, this is mind-boggling technology that might very well affect you on your farm without you even knowing it.

Too many people in SA still do not get enough to eat. To attain ‘zero-hunger’, organisations such as Grain SA need to work with government to ensure enough affordable food for our nation, says Derek Hanekom, deputy minister of science and technology.

“He who sees the invisible will achieve the impossible,” said Helen Keller, and coming from that great man Brand Pretorius it’s not just another nice quotation one remembers for a while and then forgets about it.

Our commercial farmers must get credit for the good that they do in their local communities.

Bonani Nyhodo, researcher at the National Agricultural Marketing Council, says EU-Africa trade liberalisation will be of little benefit to the continent. Africa must build its infrastructure and trade internally.

My heart bleeds for Ian Player, that grand old man of nature conservation in South Africa. Oom Ian, I’m so sorry for what they’re doing to the rhinos you and your band of brave men worked so hard for.

Hats off to Jannie de Villiers and the Grain SA team for an exciting new approach to the organisation’s 2012 congress!

It’s crucial for farmers to know what’s expected of them once the proposed land legislation becomes law. Land occupiers will be given greater rights, but it’s not all bad news, says labour and land lawyer Rob McCarthy of McCarthy and Associates in KwaZulu-Natal.