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With climate change intensifying the risk of droughts, and urban development putting pressure on already scarce water supplies, farmers are under increasing pressure to make every drop count.

The roots of the Battenhausen family in the Upper Karoo are as deep and meaningful as their family tree. For six generations, they have farmed sheep near Philipstown, and their contribution to the community is well known. Today, it is up to Carl Battenhausen to walk in the footsteps of those who came before him and continue building his family’s legacy.

Siphiwe Sithole is on a mission to establish a culture of food abundance. She spoke to Sabrina Dean about her business, African Marmalade, and how it harnesses the potential of indigenous products grown by smallholder farmers.

As global human populations surge and climate volatility intensifies, the pressure on South Africa’s agriculture sector continues to mount. The demand for more food, produced more sustainably, has never been greater.

The Red Meat Producers’ Organisation works on behalf of red meat producers to ultimately improve their sustainability.

Since taking over her late husband’s farm three years ago, Franelyn Rossouw has been simplifying her approach to potato farming in order to streamline production. She spoke to Lindi Botha about how her focus on optimising irrigation, meticulous crop protection, and reducing in-field traffic is bearing fruit.

The latest data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that beef prices in that country are now reaching record highs.

Farmers and agri-businesses across the Western Cape will soon be able to tap into free, hands-on support to make their operations more resilient to rising energy costs, drought, and climate risks due to the rollout of a series of green economy help desks.

South African dam levels remain encouraging overall, but concerns over water security persist in drought-affected regions in the Northern and Eastern Cape. The latest dam level figures released by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) paint a generally stable to positive picture in most provinces.

Biotechnology is set to transform South African crop production over the next two decades. Chantel Arendse, plant biotechnology lead at CropLife South Africa, unpacks how genome editing, drought-tolerant traits, and regulatory reform can help farmers boost yields, improve sustainability, and remain competitive.

The Senwes Group has achieved a resilient set of financial results for the year ended 30 April 2025, navigating a difficult operating environment shaped by drought, high interest rates, and ongoing infrastructure constraints.

Over the years, Eduard Dreyer ventured into different markets to build his business’s resilience. Groundnuts, however, became a core part of his farming enterprise, so much so that he built a processing plant that specialises in cleaning and sorting the crop. Nichelle Steyn reports on how Eduard and his son Christian handle the 2 000t harvest.