‘Govt must help us to help our farm workers’
A meeting between organised agriculture and Deputy-president Cyril Ramaphosa saw robust talks on evictions, municipalities’ failure to deliver, and ASUF urging government to adopt a ‘social pact’ for farm workers.
Namibian land reform: negotiated in good faith
Namibia appears to be redistributing land without threatening food security. Its commercial farmers do not bad-mouth their government, seeking rather to support and engage with it. The government in turn...
Broiler production in a squatter camp
The Phomolong squatter camp is not a place associated with chicken production. But, as Mike Burgess discovered, resident Prince Magagula is producing between 400 and 600 broilers a cycle from...
Fauresmith endurance ride test riders to their limits
This year, the Fauresmith 200 saw 381 riders set out on what’s deemed to be the world’s toughest endurance ride. Greg Miles was there.
Land reform proposal a snub to the NDP
Minister Nkwinti’s suggestion that 50% of farms be transferred to farm workers, ignores empowerment strategies championed by organised agriculture and is a departure from the land reform model proposed in...
Grain producer subscribes to learning and hard work
Knowledge is the foundation of any enterprise, says Free State farmer Michael Ramoholi. The knowledge he gained from participating in Grain SA’s study groups and agricultural courses contributed to his...
Agricultural insights from Argentina
Judging by participants’ comments, the second Farmer’s Weekly tour to Argentina was as successful as last year’s. The South Africans and Zimbabweans who accompanied FW journalist Lloyd Phillips learned much...
Growing greens in the city
For much of the South African population, destitution and undernourishment are everyday realities. In Johannesburg, a project has been established to curb food insecurity through community agricultural centres across the...
One hundred years in the Karoo
William Rogers immigrated to the Eastern Cape a century ago, bought Hathersage farm in 1926, and began farming Merinos. Today the farm belongs to Richard – William’s grandson – and...
Murder in the Mountains
Barkly East is better known for its breathtaking highland beauty than its farm attacks. But two recent incidents have sent shockwaves through the community. Mike Burgess assesses the impact the...
Contributing to the Nooitgedachter legacy
The Nooitgedachter, SA’s first ‘indigenous’ horse breed, was developed by the department of agriculture at the Nooitgedacht Research Station near Ermelo. Mike Burgess visited Braam Olivier’s farm for a closer...
Eastern Cape cop cracks whip on stock theft
Since 2000, warrant officer Duma Maseyimani from the SA Police Service’s Aliwal North stock theft unit in the Eastern Cape has made over 300 arrests and helped secure more than...
Kolie Paulse’s labour of love
Western Cape Farm Worker of the Year for 2013, Kolie Paulse, has an unwavering commitment and passion for his work. This has seen him advance from a general labourer to...
Communal farming under threat
The Kukung family has farmed on communal land in Kgabalatsane village for more than six decades. Patrick and Benny Kukung explain to Peter Mashala how the village’s communal farming system...
An American perspective of SA
Peering over the fence to see how the farmer next door is doing is a temptation few can resist. Recently a group of 16 American farmers visited South Africa. Lindi...
Land reform dilemma
CEO of the Rhys Evans Group (Grain SA’s 2013 Grain Producer of the Year), Anthony Evans, says land reform is the industry’s main problem.
The Anglo-Boer War’s Basutoland refugees
It is a little known fact that Orange Free State Boer families were once offered refuge during the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902) in Lesotho, then Basutoland. The resentment of Boer fighters,...
Markets for land reform beneficiaries
Too many once-successful farms now lie fallow, so it’s a breath of fresh air to hear of an initiative that seeks to prevent this from happening, says Lloyd Phillips.
Never too old to be a top farmer
Grain SA/Absa Developing Grain Producer of the Year for 2013, Maurice Boki, is proof that age should never be considered a barrier to successful farming.
A winning community project
Sphiwe Machika, the 2013 DAFF Female Farm Worker of the Year, says working with the best team has brought the best out in her. Peter Mashala visited Sphiwe at the...
ADVERTISEMENT
MUST READS
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
