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Dr Stephano Haarhoff is a young agronomist at Yarra Fertilizer, who grew up in the coastal town of Hermanus but spent his childhood holidays on the family farm in the Free State where his passion for agriculture took root.

Nozibusiso Maphumulo (27) grew up in a small rural village in KwaZulu-Natal, under extreme poverty. Maphumulo knew very little about agriculture but was exposed to subsistence farming in the village.

Stefan Links completed his MSc in plant pathology (cum laude) at Stellenbosch University in 2019. He currently works as a research co-ordinator for Grain SA.

Balungile Dlulisa grew up in Clearwater township in Pinetown, KwaZulu-Natal and recently finished her MSc through UNISA.

Ncumisa Yekelo grew up in a village in the Eastern Cape and became interested in agriculture through her parents.

In the latest episode of our weekly video series, Nico Hawkins, general manager for the South African Grain Information Service (SAGIS), speaks to Farmer's Weekly editor Denene Erasmus about the important role SAGIS plays in the agriculture sector and the grain industry in particular.

In this week's episode of our video series in collaboration with the Maize Trust, Denene Erasmus, editor of Farmer's Weekly, speaks to Mmakgabo Matlou, senior researcher in soil science at the Agricultural Research Council, about the basic principles of conservation agriculture.

Denene Erasmus, editor of Farmer’s Weekly, speaks to Wiana Louw, general manager of the Southern African Grain Laboratory (SAGL), about the important role of the SAGL and how local wheat quality compares to imported wheat. They also talk about the research conducted by the SAGL to ensure good food quality and safety in terms of the grain products produced in South Africa.

Denene Erasmus, editor-in-chief of Farmer’s Weekly, interviews Eugene du Preez, director of SiQ, a company that specialises in agricultural statistics and spatial data.

Farmer’s Weekly editor Denene Erasmus interviews Prof Ferdi Meyer, director of the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP), about the history of BFAP and the research topics that are being prioritised. BFAP was founded in 2004 and is a non-profit organisation. It exists with the distinct purpose to objectively inform and support decision-making by stakeholders in the agro-food, fibre and beverage sectors of Africa. It provides independent, rigorously tested, research-based market and policy analyses.

Farmer’s Weekly and Agri SA hosted a webinar to discuss the new minimum wage increase, what options there are for farmers to apply for exemption, and the affordability of the minimum wage for various farming sectors. Farmer’s Weekly editor Denene Erasmus welcomed speakers Christo van der Rheede, Agri SA executive director; Lebogang Sethusha, head of Agri SA’s Labour and Development Centre of Excellence; Richard Nicholson, economic research manager at the South African Cane Growers’ Association; and Dr Koos Coetzee, an independent agricultural economist.

Join us on 10 July 2019 for the 13th Annual Agribusiness Africa Conference.