Farmer's Weekly

One of the few positive impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa has been the attention it has brought to food prices in the country and, more specifically, the disparity that exists between producer and retailer prices. The most recent examp

EDITOR Denene Erasmus (denene@caxton.co.za) MANAGING EDITOR Janine Ryan (janiner@caxton.co.za) NEWS EDITOR Julinda Schroeder (julindas@caxton.co.za) ART DIRECTOR Vian Roos DESIGNER Louis Kruger CHIEF COPY EDITOR Paul Sulter COPY EDITORS Fanie d

Farmer’s Weekly celebrates its 110th anniversary this year, and this is your chance to get involved and be featured in the collectors’ commemorative edition. We are looking for former cover stars and couples who met and fell in love via the Hitching

Cocoa plantations, which are the backbone of the world’s chocolate supply, are highly vulnerable to climate hazards, such as heatwaves, droughts, seasonal shifts, and erratic rainfall. A new project by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Inte

One of the best recent examples of how seed sector policy reform can impact an entire agriculture sector is evident in Ghana. Before 2016, the country’s seed industry was plagued by a number of challenges, which saw it functioning suboptimally. First

The citrus industry in South Africa continues to show extreme resilience, with strong demand on export markets, and strong potential beyond the current COVID-19 crisis. Demand for citrus on international markets has boomed during the COVID-19 pandemi

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank, FMO, have granted a £3 million (about R54 million) loan to United Exports, which will be used to finance capital expenditure aimed at expanding the size of its OZ

The South African wine industry recently celebrated the annual Wine Harvest Commemoration Day. The event, presented for the 10th time this year at the historic Groot Constantia Wine Estate in Cape Town, took place virtually. During the event, Beyers

Climate change is taking place much faster than crop breeders are able to develop new varieties that can cope with increased temperatures. Researchers fear that this will lead to increased famine in sub-Saharan Africa. Speaking at a recent webinar by

The wool market surged 12,1% to close at R169,71/kg at the 19th sale of the season. A total of 13 176 bales was on offer, after 2 773 bales were withdrawn prior to the sale, resulting in an overall sales clearance of 97,2%. Of the total offering, mor

Fuelling speculation about tightening global maize supplies, maize futures in the US rose more than 2% in the last week of January to set a multi-year record after China made its largest purchase of US maize to date. In addition, wheat futures also r

The Namibian government has put 170 wild elephants up for sale, justified by what has been described as “false population statistics and disputed claims of human-elephant conflict”. More than 100 000 people have signed a petition condemning the actio

The Spanish farmers’ association, ASAJA Alicante, has warned that some operators are buying frozen oranges from farmers in Andalusia, where storm Filomena affected 30% to 40% of citrus production, at half-price and exporting them to the European mark

Despite the resumption of liquor sales for off- and on-site consumption in early February, South Africa’s beer brewing industry suffered severe hardship, with an estimated 165 000 jobs lost as a result of the COVID-19 restrictions on sales. This was

The increased demand for sorghum in South Africa can be ascribed to an increased awareness of the high nutritional value of the crop and its health benefits. Willem Groothof, Grain SA’s Sorghum Work Group chairperson, told Farmer’s Weekly the demand

Small-stock producers in the southern parts of Namibia have found themselves in a perfect storm, according to Thinus Pretorius, chairperson of Namibia’s Livestock Producers’ Organisation (LPO). Coming out of a seven-year drought and with livestock he

Following a spate of road traffic accidents in recent months in which farmworkers were injured, some fatally, the Sustainability Initiative of South Africa (SIZA) has published a set of comprehensive guidelines that South Africa’s agriculture sector

The Crop Estimates Committee (CEC) has released its latest crops estimate, which indicates that farmers in the summer regions have increased planting by 6,35%. According to Dr Sifiso Ntombela, chief economist at the South African Agricultural Marketi

A surge in the demand for animal health products that contain ivermectin, based on the belief that it can help prevent and treat COVID-19 in humans, has the animal health industry concerned. Dr Peter Oberem, CEO of Afrivet, said that a spike in sales

The Directorate of Soil Management in the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development has called for public comment on its draft Farm Planning Regulation document, aimed at introducing a system of farm plans to prevent the degradatio

The Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF) has cited wide-ranging factors that have contributed to a significant decline in the Kruger National Park’s (KNP) white rhino population and, to a lesser extent, the park’s black rhinos. Th

Although watermelons are popular among South Africans, and local production appears to be strong, the watermelon value chain needs formalisation and organisation to maximise its current and future potential. This was according to Francois Knowles, re

Separations (separations.co.za) is a South African company that supplies the pharmaceutical and cannabis industries with testing and extraction equipment. I recently asked Jeff Verlinden, a sales representative at the company, about the main processe

Bluetongue is a viral disease introduced by vectors such as midges and mosquitoes. It affects mostly sheep, but can also infect game, goats and cattle. It may not always be deadly, but can cause serious financial loss, as it can lead to abortion in e

Healthy eating trends are the key driver behind a relentless increase in demand for avocados, macadamias and citrus. A shortage of water looks set to be a major constraint for producers of these crops. Other challenges include bottlenecks at the

Stock theft in the Free State has so far this year declined somewhat, according to Jakkals le Roux, chairperson of Free State Agriculture’s (FSA) safety and security committee. He ascribed this to, among other factors, the national COVID-19-related c

The Carmingo cultivars extend the apricot picking season from December to mid-March. The cultivars are ideally suited to the low temperatures of the Koo Valley, as they require a high number of chill units. The fruit has an attractive red blush a

Faralia produces triangular, orange fruit with 30% to 40% blush that is ready for picking around 12 days after Bebeco. The fruit of this self-fertile cultivar is predominantly large to extra-large, with a yield averaging 40t/ha, depending on climatic

With their relatively small farms, fruit producers Pierre Burger and Sam Sieberhagen realised there was only one way to compete with larger producers: find a niche product. They not only succeeded in doing so, but became pioneers of a new variety of

Lerato Senakhomo runs a 130-head Nguni herd on 453ha of leased land in Nigel, Gauteng. She is a participant in the Industrial Development Corporation’s Nguni Cattle Development Project. Senakhomo also plants around 100ha to maize, and is a proud

Ever heard of the Pygmalion effect? It’s that psychological phenomenon where your expectation of a person actually affects the way that person performs. For example, if a teacher expects high performance from a pupil, that pupil will tend to perform

Over a period of just two years, KwaZulu-Natal beef cattle farmer Andrew Fyvie lost animals worth around R1,5 million to stock thieves. With advice from farmers, technology company IoT Global has adapted track and tracing hardware, software and wir

Heading and thinning are the main forms of pruning used on any type of tree. The aim of pruning is to manage tree structure and light within the tree canopy, as well as the bearing positions of buds. Pruning always has a dwarfing effect, which af

• The cashew tree (Anacardium occidentale) is native to north-eastern Brazil, but the Portuguese took it to Goa, India, between 1560 and 1565. From there, it spread throughout Southeast Asia and eventually Africa. • The tree is cultivated in the trop

A technique that has worked well for me for a number of years is planting two rows of cover crops in a bed, more or less in the same area where the following crop will be planted. In the case of grazing vetch, the crop will grow both vertically and l

The seasons and weather play a major role in our consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables, with availability as well as temperature affecting our choices. Right now, in summer, we tend to enjoy the fruit of the season and go for lighter meals, with

Age-related cognitive decline and dementia (including Alzheimer’s) affect untold millions of people worldwide, causing memory loss, agitation, stress and anxiety. There is as yet no cure for these conditions, but studies over the years have shown tha

South African readers of a certain age will have grown up listening to Springbok Radio, which broadcast from 1950 until 1985. Night after night, we tuned into shows such as Inspector Carr’s Casebook, The Mind of Tracy Dark (about a psychic detective)

Keen to make the most of those shady patches in your garden? Nurseryman and garden guru Haschick has a bookful of answers for you. His experience as a gardening columnist helps him home in on pointers that would-be gardeners need, finding the best pl