Table of contents for 2-9 April 2021 in Farmer's Weekly

You might have read, in media reports that have been circulating on social media these past few weeks, about the case of Western Cape farmer Ivan Cloete, a land reform beneficiary who was facing eviction from a farm he was previously granted access to by the state. I met Cloete in 2010, and by that time he had already been farming for seven years. However, much the same as today, in the interview I did with him then he said that government was holding farmers like him hostage by not granting them secure tenure for land to which they had been granted access. Back in 2010, Cloete was farming on a piece of land in Blackheath, close to Cape Town. He has since moved farms three times and now faces…

Sheep dogs have been invaluable to stock farmers for many decades and even centuries. However, the dog must be able to work. This article explored the characteristics that a farmer should consider when choosing a sheep dog. When selecting a dog, two things stand pre-eminent. One is intelligence; the other is constitution. So, how do we judge a dog for intelligence? First, of course, the dog has to fill the eye. That general term is employed, which means such a lot, and yet, when analysed, might mean next to nothing. There has to be about such a dog that indefinable something that bespeaks alertness of mind as well as of body; and it must have the appearance of being a dog with a mind of his own. There are no…

Agritech is a growing segment of start-ups seeking to improve or disrupt the global food and agriculture industry by using technology to improve sustainability, efficiency and profitability. In Africa, agritech is not a new phenomenon. Tech start-ups have been active on the market for more than a decade, but agritech only really started gaining momentum in the past five years or so. From start-ups that leverage artificial intelligence to connect farmers to manufacturers of agricultural inputs, such as animal feed and fertilisers, and help farmers to better manage potential risks and disasters relating to climate, pests and diseases, to precision irrigation, the agritech sector is said to be brimming with potential. Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana seem to be dominant players in the agritech market at the moment, accounting for more…

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is becoming increasingly popular in the Far East, especially China. According to China-based market research company Daxue Consulting, changing eating habits in that country could be the reason for increased sales of EVOO there. The Asia-Pacific olive market was expected to record a compound annual growth rate of 4,2% between 2020 and 2025, according to market research firm Mordor Intelligence. Mordor said the region’s market for olive oil was growing rapidly to meet surging demand from consumers for the nutritional benefits of the product. Nick Wilkinson, chairperson of SA Olive, told Farmer’s Weekly that the relatively new market for olive oil in China was driven by price and not quality. He said this was an impediment for local producers of high-quality EVOOs, as Chinese consumers…

South African citrus farmers were recently warned by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (agriculture department) about Asian citrus greening disease, also known as huanglongbing (HLB). The disease, although not yet present, poses a major threat to the citrus industry in South Africa, the world’s second-largest exporter of the fruit. “The disease is caused by the pathogen Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, which is insect vector-transmitted by the Asian citrus psyllid Diaphorina citri, and it poses a huge threat to all citrus industries in the world,” said a statement by the agriculture department. Symptoms on leaves and shoots included yellow shoots; asymmetric, mottled leaves; small, upright chlorotic leaves; out-of-phase flushing; and branch dieback. Flower and fruit symptoms included unseasonal and heavy flowering on diseased branches; small, lopsided, bitter-tasting fruit…

The US Department of Agriculture has raised its export forecast for US white wheat to a 27-year high of 245 million bushels (about 6,67 million tons) due to strong demand from China. This was the latest disruption on commodity markets as a result of Chinese purchases of grains and oilseeds during the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in prices of major commodity crops reaching multi-year highs. US producers had long tried to attract the Chinese market for confections made from white wheat flour; however, recent purchases reflected a need for animal feed, Chinese traders and analysts told Reuters. China had reserved more US white wheat this year than any country aside from the Philippines, which was the top buyer of the grain. However, the recovery of other economies around the world…

The agriculture sector spends about R7 billion a year on electricity, and the lack of a stable power supply puts food security and prices at risk over time. This was according to Kulani Siweya, agricultural economist at Agri SA, who added that over 25% of the country’s food was produced by energy-intensive industries. “An opportunity for the agriculture sector to be part of the solution in addressing the power supply challenges presents itself through self-generation [of power]. This will solve the energy crisis and make power more affordable for the sector,” he said. Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe recently gave the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) the go-ahead to process licence applications for self-generation facilities of more than 1MW. “The approval means that prospective applicants…

The fynbos cut flower industry is on the path to recovery following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the latest estimates for protea flowers up 15% on the previous year. This was according to Karien Bezuidenhout, manager at Cape Flora SA, who said that the increase in the latest estimates for proteas was due to more favourable weather conditions, such as increased rainfall. The total exports for the 2020/2021 season were estimated at just over 6,98 million stems, up from about 6,51 million stems exported in the 2019/2020 season. Bezuidenhout said the fynbos industry had two sub-industries, namely cultivated flowers and veld-harvested flowers. The cultivated production area totalled about 1 100ha, and the veld harvesting took place on about 100 000ha. The total annual value of the industry was…

The Namibian beef export industry is so intensely regulated that it is virtually impossible for any meat contaminated by disease to leave the country. This was according to Thinus Pretorius, chairperson of Namibia’s Livestock Producers’ Organisation (LPO). His comments followed recent enquiries from the United States Cattlemen’s Association about the possibility of meat contaminated by foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) being exported to the US from Namibia. According to Pretorius, Namibia exported beef to the US exclusively for the fast food industry. “The Namibian beef production industry is highly regulated through local legislation, and the export markets are aggressively guarded to protect and retain [them],” he told Farmer’s Weekly. Beef produced for export was subject to 11 protocols. The country’s veterinary cordon fence (VCF), also referred to as the ‘red line’, acted…

One of the key principles of Allan Savory’s holistic management planned grazing system is that nature functions as a holistic community, with people, animals and the land all interconnected. Removing or changing the behaviour of any keystone species will have an unexpected and wide-ranging negative effect on other areas of the environment. Nowhere is this negative effect more clearly seen than in constant, uncontrolled grazing. It damages good grass plants and allows for invasion by largely unpalatable grasses and woody plants of no economic value. Along with this comes many other problems such as the creation of vast areas of bare, hard, capped ground, soil erosion and run-off of rainwater. This, in turn, can even lead to boreholes running dry. NO FENCES? NO PROBLEM As I’ve written before, many communities…

Online marketing has entered the fresh-produce sector, with enthusiastic vendors seeing an opportunity to sell fruit and vegetables to huge markets. It seems so simple and matches modern requirements for ease of purchase. Has technology found the ultimate marketing solution? It has certainly become an established marketing option used by many farmers and buyers. Different versions have evolved over the years, some successfully, others not. TOUCH AND SMELL ONLINE MARKETING HAS DEFINITE LIMITATIONS AS WELL AS BENEFITS But, as with any new system, online marketing has a downside as well. Technology might provide all the bells and whistles, but it cannot replace the human senses that play a crucial role in the fresh-produce trade. There is no denying that when people buy fresh produce the senses of sight, touch, taste…

Perfect sound The BOSE HOME PORTABLE SPEAKER is a light, easy-to-transport wireless speaker with a battery life of around 12 hours. It connects via Bluetooth and charges via a USB cable. According to various reviews, the speaker is well designed and offers warm, well-balanced sound. The speaker is available in black and silver, and is more affordable than some other speakers of the same quality. The speaker is also compact, making it easier to handle. The IPX4 housing of the speaker makes it water-resistant, thus offering further protection. The speaker is enclosed in anodised aluminum. It has a sleek design. The bottom part of the speaker has a wrap-around grille, while a much smaller grille is located at the top of the speaker, encircling the control pad. This is where…

MY 5 KEY WORDS: HLENGIWE MAGAGULA Travel writers Hlengiwe Magagula and Denis Costello have captured the burgeoning sense of reconnecting with nature that’s been reinforced by COVID-19 lockdowns. Whether you see this as a template for your own ecotourism business or want to try one of the nearly 60 guided walking trails that they write about in WALKING SAFARIS OF SOUTH AFRICA (Struik Nature, R270) , their book can make a great contribution to your Easter weekend reading list! 1. Walking Walking is a way of accessing pristine wilderness in a natural ‘leave no trace’ way, filled with sounds and scents. In a vehicle, you only see a small fraction of a reserve and you focus on the bigger animals. On foot, you transform from an observer to a participant…

“I have come across some horrible things in my years of research on the environmental damage caused by mines, but for me the most terrifying sight of all is a burning underground coal field. There is very little that one can do to solve a problem such as this, because you will have to pump millions of litres of water into the coal field to extinguish the fire. It can be done in areas where the burning coal threatens lives and infrastructure, but it’s usually only a temporary and limited solution, as it will start burning again as soon as the water subsides, drains away or evaporates, leaving the coal to come into contact with air again and dry out. AN IRREPLACEABLE RESOURCE Now imagine what it would feel like…

New management for Loskop Cotton Gin Loskop Cotton Gin in Marble Hall, Limpopo, is officially under the new management of Vaalharts Cotton, located in Hartswater, Northern Cape. During the transition period, the cotton gin will be known as Vaalharts – Loskop Cotton. Vaalharts Cotton’s managing director, Louis Olivier, and the company’s chief financial officer, Johan Wolhuter, will also take up these respective roles at Vaalharts – Loskop Cotton. Olivier, a qualified agriculturist with three decades of experience in the cotton industry as both a farmer and a businessman, has nine years of running a cotton gin under his belt. Wolhuter has a finance qualification and has been handling Vaalharts’s financial management for the past two years. Vaalharts Cotton and Vaalharts – Loskop Cotton will be managed as two independent business…

Demand for fruit budwood has been on a downward trend for pome and stone fruit over the past three to four years. The total quantity of pome fruit budwood supplied to nurseries annually increased by an average of 31% between 2015 and 2018, but declined 9% from 2018 to 2019, and 12% from 2019 to 2020, bringing the total to just over 2, 7 million, according to the South African Plant Improvement Organisation. Pear budwood supplies declined the most between 2019 and 2020 at 19% to about 825 874. Apple budwood supplies declined 9% to about 1,92 million over this period. Stone fruit supplies increased by an average of 22% between 2014 and 2016, declining 22% between 2016 and 2017, 4% between 2017 and 2018, 29% between 2018 and 2019,…

AUSTRALIA Australia’s AU$1,6 billion (about R18,5 billion) annual timber trade with China hangs in the balance after requests to that country’s customs officials to resume log exports were ignored. Reuters reported that the four-million-ton log trade was largely suspended late last year after Chinese authorities said they had found “pests” in shipments coming from several Australian ports. UNITED KINGDOM Farmers in the UK have expressed their hope that the government will put words into action to protect native breeds of livestock in the East Midlands region. The Agriculture Act, passed in November 2020, promised “measures” and “financial incentives” to protect the UK’s declining native breeds; traditional livestock that have adapted to the country’s climate and topography over centuries. Half of the UK’s native livestock, including Border Leicester sheep and Lincoln…

The safety of farmworkers, especially in terms of transport, came under scrutiny recently when the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Thoko Didiza, responded to questions from members of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP). DA MP Mbulelo Bara asked the minister which alternative transport methods she proposed farmers use to ensure the safety of farmworkers. He also wanted to know whether the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (agriculture department) would financially assist farmers to comply, as they were already under unreasonable financial pressure due to other failures by government to assure their own safety and livelihood as well as that of their workers. Didiza questioned the ethics of treating farmworkers, who contributed to national food security, in a manner that was “unbecoming”. “If you…

While international controversy over the use of neonicotinoid pesticides (neonics) continues, with its use in the EU now severely limited, there are currently no plans to limit or ban the use of these chemicals in South Africa. In recent years, neonics have been fingered for allegedly contributing to the decline in populations of both wild and domesticated bees, and of other beneficial insect species, leading to a negative knock-on effect on ecosystems. In a 2019 report published by the Academy of Science of South Africa, Prof Christian Pirk of the University of Pretoria’s Zoology and Entomology Department said neonics were widely used in South African crop production. “Experiments with honeybees have shown that neonicotinoids decrease sucrose responsiveness of honeybees at first contact, thus reducing foraging efficiency, pollination services for treated…

BEEF International beef prices have continued their upward trajectory since mid-2020, supported by tight supplies. In South Africa, prices have also shown a rising trend since August 2020 after experiencing a slump during the first phase of the country’s strict COVID-19-related lockdown. Prices have been bolstered by lower slaughter numbers. The reduction in slaughter numbers, in turn, was the result of more aggressive herd rebuilding. Weaner calf prices have also followed an upward trajectory with a strong price run during February, consistent with a seasonal trend of strong demand during this month. Prices have since started to come down, and weaner prices are expected to trend lower as the industry enters weaning season and supply is shored up. This could also provide some reprieve from cost pressures building in the…

South Africa’s labour environment is highly regulated and an employer must take care to comply with labour law. Compliance, however, requires specialist knowledge, so it is perhaps unsurprising that there are a number of myths surrounding labour law that lead to employers believing they are acting correctly, when in fact they are putting their businesses at risk. LABOUR LAW MYTHS The following are commonly believed labour law myths. 1. Myth: “The employer is obliged to pay sick leave when the employee visits the clinic.” Fact: An employee is entitled to be paid sick leave only when he/she is unable to work due to a medical condition. The employer is not expected to remunerate an employee for time off to visit the clinic to obtain medication, or in cases of regular…

With so many factors that can influence the quality of silage, keeping a finger on the pulse of operations is crucial. While Hano Lombard, co-owner of Westend Landgoed in Morgenzon, Mpumalanga, is modest about the farm’s success at the Santam Agriculture National Silage competition, it is clear that his firm management is the reason for its success. “There’s no room for error. Silage is a high-value product that is produced in a very short time, in a high-pressure environment. The team needs to be focused and vigilant to ensure every step in the process is done correctly,” he says. The silage has proved its value in the business, which consists of grain, sheep, cattle and dairy farming. With narrow profit margins on dairy, moving towards self-sufficiency in feed is a…

Leaf analysis is the only technique according to which sensible fertilisation can be applied to a specific planting. The following aspects are important: • The correct time for sampling is from mid-September to mid-November. • The first leaf sample of a specific planting must be accompanied by a soil sample. • A leaf and soil sample must represent a planting of no more than 3ha. Select about 20 healthy trees, well distributed throughout the planting. The trees must be homogeneous (look the same) and representative of the average treesin the planting. Sample four leaves per tree. Don’t take samples from obviously good or weak trees.…

MAKES 500ML 500g fresh tomatoes 2 onions 2 garlic cloves 1 red chilli (optional) 2 Tbsp olive oil Salt and pepper 1 tsp ground cumin 1 Tbsp sugar ⅓ cup water 2 Tbsp vinegar A handful fresh herbs • Preheat the oven to 180°C. • Roughly chop the tomatoes and onions, and scatter in a roasting pan along with the garlic and chilli (if using). • Drizzle over the olive oil and season with a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper, as well as the ground cumin. • Once the vegetables have been roasting for 30 minutes, remove them from the oven, sprinkle over the sugar, and add the water and vinegar to the pan, giving it a good shake. • Return the pan to the oven for another 15…

The body’s circulatory system comprises the heart, lungs and blood vessels. Newly oxygenated blood flows from the lungs to the heart. From there, it flows through progressively smaller arteries until it reaches the smallest vessels, called capillaries. In these microscopic vessels, the blood exchanges cellular waste products for oxygen and nutrients. The capillaries then gradually become larger and form veins, through which the deoxygenated, waste-carrying blood returns to the heart. It is then pumped to the lungs where it is reoxygenated and the cycle begins once more. ENTER THE LYMPHATIC SYSTEM Large protein molecules and much of the fluid accompanying the blood leak from the capillaries. In addition, every cell in the body expels fluids and waste products. All of this accumulates in the small spaces between the cells. This…

In RATTLING THE CAGE (Picador Africa, R310), Brent Meersman presents a collection of often provocative essays that will have your brain running along tracks not oftened explored. “Should we come to terms with climate change, like we have to with cancer?” he asks. “Where is democracy in the workplace?” His subtitle, ‘Reflections on democratic South Africa’, reflects his dreams and disappointments; they may not be yours, but they are still a loud and sharply honed wake-up call about South Africa realities. FIVE COPIES OF RATTLING THE CAGE TO GIVE AWAY! TO ENTER: SMS the word CAGE, your name, physical address and ID number to 48404. Each SMS costs R1,50. Free SMSes do not apply. Competition opens on 2 April 2021 and runs until 30 April 2021.…

Africa remains the youngest continent in the world, with almost 60% of its population under the age of 25. With much of this population set to enter the labour market over the coming decade, this scenario has been viewed as an immense opportunity, but also a ‘ticking time bomb’ given the growth of joblessness across many countries in Africa. It has been particularly difficult for governments to create a policy environment that can absorb enough of the youth into the economy. According to the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, which focuses on enhancing governance and leadership in Africa, 16 million young Africans, who account for around 13,4% of the total labour force within the 15- to 24-year-old age range, still face unemployment. RELIANCE ON AGRICULTURE In the recent past, emerging sentiment has…

Delays at Cape Town’s harbour are causing major headaches for South Africa’s fruit export industry. Mitchell Brooke, logistics development manager at the Citrus Growers’ Association of Southern Africa (CGA), said the citrus industry experienced problems last year following the start of the COVID-19 lockdown, with turnaround times rising to as much as two weeks due to staff shortages, confusion regarding lockdown measures, and container shortages. Operations, however, remained slow thereafter, despite claims that these issues had since been addressed, resulting in huge bottlenecks for summer fruit exports. “The problem is quite complex. Equipment is outdated and breaking [down], with concomitant higher maintenance costs; the port had to deal with heavy winds this season (the South-Easter), resulting in closures of two to three days at a time; and there’s an international…

The land rights of African women were addressed during a recent webinar hosted by the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) at the University of the Western Cape. The webinar focused on the state of research, training, implementation and advocacy, and suggested priority actions and approaches to better realise women’s land rights. An introductory statement by PLAAS pointed out that, across Africa, many women did not have independent land rights and struggled to access land. Many were also at risk of land dispossession. However, almost all African states had now signed policy resolutions to ensure more equal and less discriminatory land rights for women. The African Union (AU) had also embraced this aspiration and laid it down in frameworks, guidelines and other legally binding documents concerning women’s land…

The recent interception of about 100 donkeys believed to be destined for slaughter in Lesotho, where gelatine from their skins will reportedly be harvested for making traditional Chinese medicine, has South Africa’s National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) concerned that this controversial practice could be resurfacing. An NSPCA statement said the interception had occurred in the Mooi River area of KwaZulu-Natal. The statement said the NSPCA had begun investigating the “donkey skin trade” just over five years ago. The initial investigation found that gelatine from donkeys’ skins was being used in the manufacture of traditional Chinese medicine called ejiao. “Ejiao is a hard gel that can be dissolved in hot water or alcohol and used in food or drink, or in beauty products such…

Although over 70% of South Africa’s pigs are produced within geographical compartments intended to minimise threats from economically important diseases, urgent measures are needed to enhance biosecurity and health controls within the balance of the country’s pig population. Most of these are produced by small-scale farmers and in communal areas that have seen an escalation in African swine fever (ASF) in recent years. This was according to Dr Peter Evans, head of Consumer Assurance at the South African Pork Producers’ Organisation (SAPPO), in response to the recent release of the World Organisation for Animal Health’s (OIE) comprehensive Compartmentalisation Guidelines for ASF. In the foreword to the guidelines, which praised South Africa’s compartmentalisation system, the OIE’s director general, Dr Monique Éloit, said that ASF was escalating globally. “This spread has placed…

The expectation that high performance brings with it high reward is deeply embedded in the human psyche. Yet how do you evaluate the performance of a job as complex as management and reward the manager accordingly? ‘Performance management’, as it’s called, is one of senior management’s most enduring challenges. Here are three options: • Management by Objectives (MBO) In his classic work, The Practice of Management, first published in 1955, Peter Drucker introduced the concept of performance objectives for managers. “Each manager needs clearly spelt-out objectives,” he wrote. “These should derive from the goals of the enterprise, and every manager should participate in the development of them.” Managers must know what’s expected of them and why, and what they will be measured against and how, Drucker added. When first exposed to…

According to Statistics South Africa, the country’s economy contracted by 7% in 2020. This poor performance pushed the total number of unemployed people in South Africa to 7,2 million. It is tempting to attribute all of the country’s economic misfortunes to the COVID-19 pandemic and its related lockdown; however, the GDP per capita, which now measures less than R50 000 per person (constant 2010 prices), illustrates that South Africa’s economic challenges were mounting even before the pandemic. The GDP per capita has been declining since 2014, implying that population growth is outpacing economic growth. This means that even as South Africa’s population continues to grow, the economy is shrinking, which is resulting in more unemployment, inequality and poverty. Farmers have long recognised the risks and challenges that a shrinking economy…

Jason Buys, who farms pigs on 10ha of the farm Elandsvlei near Arniston in the Western Cape, started out with three Duroc gilts almost three years ago. “I don’t have much of a farming background, but from a young age I dreamt of becoming a pig farmer. When the opportunity presented itself in 2018, my passion for farming and animals led me to start Ocean View Piggery,” explains Buys. He rented land on Elandsvlei from Danie Terblanche, who also rents land on the farm, and bought his first gilts with a loan from his father-in-law. “I started small, so that I could determine the possible challenges along the way, and slowly kept the ball rolling,” says Buys. He began by borrowing a boar from a friend. Later, he bought three…

Liver fluke infestation can have a major impact on sheep and cattle production systems. It can cause death or lead to chronic production losses. In South Africa, two species of liver fluke are found, namely the giant liver fluke (Fasciola gigantica) and the common liver fluke (F. hepatica). The life cycle of a liver fluke is indirect. This means that an intermediate host is involved. The giant liver fluke uses the freshwater snail (Lymnaea natalensis) as an intermediate host, while the common liver fluke uses L. truncatula as an intermediate host. Eggs are excreted in the dung of the ruminant. Within about 14 days, the early larval stage develops. In this stage, the larva actively swims around looking for an intermediate host to infect. The larva penetrates the freshwater snail…

If you were given R30 million to invest in agriculture, either in new or existing farming activities or in the agriculture value chain, how would you spend it? I’d use the money to expand my farming enterprise by increasing the beef cattle herd, which we had to reduce significantly during the past few years due to the drought, and I’d acquire more land on my boundaries if it became available to expand the grazing area. A longer-term dream is to invest in the beef value chain. I already have a beef feedlot, but would like to invest in an abattoir. I’d also invest in a beef and pineapple production project that some of the local farmers started for the local community. What is the best advice you have ever been…