Table of contents for 20 November 2020 in Farmer's Weekly

Over the past two decades, from 2000 to 2018, the global output by the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sector increased, in real value terms, by 68%. Over this period, agricultural GDP in Africa more than doubled and the continent increased its share of the global agriculture market from 8% to 14%. These are some of the major findings from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ 2020 Statistical Yearbook for food and agriculture. According to the report, Asia maintained the number one position as the region representing the largest share in agricultural output, with its share in total global output increasing from 60% to 63%. Growth in output in Asia and Africa meant that the total contribution share by Europe and the Americas declined from 14% to 10%…

The data about South Africa’s 2020/2021 maize crop continues to paint a positive outlook. Figures released on 28 October by the Crop Estimates Committee (CEC) showed that South African farmers intended to increase the area planted to maize in the 2020/2021 production season by 5% year-on-year (y/y) to 2,75 million hectares. With weather forecasts generally favourable for the summer rainfall region, due to the expectations of a La Niña weather event, South Africa could have yet another large harvest in 2021. For example, if one applies a five-year average yield estimate of 5,3t/ha to an area of 2,75 million hectares, South Africa could have a harvest of 14,58 million tons in the 2020/2021 season (compared with 15,42 million tons in 2019/2020). This would be the fourth largest maize harvest on…

The DA has unanimously supported a policy resolution that farm attacks and murders be declared a hate crime and priority crime. During the party’s recent virtual elective conference, the DA’s resolution to end farm attacks and murders was adopted as part of the party’s platform. “The DA wants farm murders to be reassigned as a hate crime and priority crime to ensure harsher punishment for those found guilty. We especially want harsher sentences if the prosecutor can prove the intent was hatred as a result of the victim’s identity as a farmer,” MP Dianne Kohler Barnard said at the conference. Political analyst Dr Theo Venter said the chances were slim that the DA would succeed in getting farm murders declared a hate crime, but added that the party’s endeavours would…

Despite a larger offering of 10 099 bales at the eleventh wool sale of the season, an overall sales clearance of 95,5% was achieved. However, the market indicator declined 2,2% to close at R145,60/kg, due to a stronger rand. In Australia, the wool market fell 6,6% during the same week, due to a larger offering than usual, resulting in a lower sales clearance. At the local sale, most of the lots consisted of good-length, fine-micron Merino wool, which resulted in active competition from all buying houses, with the broader micron categories suffering the largest losses. The largest decrease of 2,9% was in the 22-micron segment, with Responsible Wool Standard-certified wool making up 22% of the wool sold. The major buyers were Modiano SA (3 011 bales), Lempriere SA (2 085),…

Collaboration between government, the private sector, farmers and civil society is needed to break the ongoing cycle of criminal activities and violence in South Africa’s rural communities. This emerged during a recent webinar in which the issue of farm security and addressing rural safety were discussed. Douglas Chitepo, acting chief director of rural development at the Western Cape Department of Agriculture, said inadequate rural safety and security remained a threat to farmers and farmworkers in the agriculture sector. The department had therefore developed a 12-point plan for rural safety, which included tracking farm attacks, identifying rural crime hotspots to deploy appropriate support, advocacy of the South African Police Service’s (SAPS) Rural Safety Strategy, and strengthening partnerships with the SAPS. In addition, Chitepo said this included encouraging the accreditation of farm…

The Instagram florist Jina Rabinowitz of Johannesburg started her business earlier this year. “I was a nursery and playschool teacher for many years,” she says. “My middle daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the end of 2017, so while I loved teaching, I needed to find something that would give me more flexibility in my working hours. I wanted to do something of my own, and I’ve always adored flowers. I decided to do a floristry course.” Rabinowitz completed a floristry course at the Dalton & Bloom Floral Academy in Randburg and launched her delivery-based floristry service, @27stems, soon thereafter. “I called the business 27stems because 27 is my house number. It’s a happy home that l love very much, so 27 seemed like a lucky number. I…

To optimise productivity, grain farmers typically concern themselves with the choice of cultivar, the state of the soil, and the weather. While all these are crucial, the condition and calibration of the planter can also play a part in overall crop yield. MAKE SURE YOU FULLY UNDERSTAND THE CALIBRATION INSTRUCTIONS OF THE PLANTER “Whether using no-till or conventional farming methods, the productivity and hence profitability of the grain crops depend largely on planter performance,” say Dr Tingmin Yu and Johan van Biljon of the Agricultural Research Council’s Institute of Agricultural Engineering. A malfunctioning or poorly set planter during the planting season can easily cost a farmer up to 10% of production through reduced yield or additional seed and fertiliser cost. “Planter performance is especially critical in no-till farming, because of…

Serves four 8 pieces of chicken with skin on and on the bone (thighs work best, but you can also use breasts and drumsticks) 500g frozen baby peas 250g leeks 3 shallots (or medium-sized brown or red onions) 3 large cloves of garlic, crushed A handful of mint leaves (optional) 60ml white wine 30ml olive oil 15ml lemon juice Salt and pepper 1. Heat the oven to 180°C. 2. Roughly chop and then wash the leeks. (It is important to wash the leeks after chopping to make sure you get rid of any dirt that might be hidden between the layers.) 3. Peel and cut the shallots or onions in half lengthwise. 4. Put the frozen peas, chopped leeks, crushed garlic, wine, olive oil and lemon juice, as well as…

Consider yourself lucky if you enjoy green tea; it offers a host of health benefits. So much so that scientists are investigating its potential for use as an antimicrobial. Organic green tea is a leading source of polyphenols, compounds that act as antioxidants, helping to protect the body’s cells. Four polyphenols are found in green tea, of which epicatechin-3-gallate (ECG), epigallocatechin (EGC) and epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) have the greatest antimicrobial effects. EGCG also improves the body’s ability to absorb the mineral zinc, which is critical for maintaining the body’s immune system, among many other functions. LOWER BLOOD PRESSURE Scientists have found that drinking three to four cups of green tea daily can reduce blood pressure, a contributing factor to heart disease and stroke. This is good news, considering that coronary heart…

The mere thought of the state being able to acquire ownership of any property against an owner’s will is not something that can be taken lightly, but if you factor in the possibility of nil compensation, it is not surprising that the tabling of the Expropriation Bill in Parliament has caused anxiety in some circles. That being said, consider the following scenario: the state makes the decision to invest in a multi-million-rand infrastructure project such as a highway or a reservoir that will bring substantial benefits to the public. Most landowners see the benefits of this and are willing to negotiate a sale, but the entire project is held up by one or two owners who refuse to enter into negotiations, no matter what offer is put on the table.…

South Africans had long faced food price increases that exceeded inflation. At the same time as lockdown regulations resulted in widespread job losses and income, various reports indicated that food price increases were taking place across the country, exacerbating food insecurity. This was according to the moderator of a recent webinar hosted by the Centre of Excellence in Food Security, Florian Kroll. Other presenters were Mervyn Abrahams, programme coordinator at the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group; Jason Aproskie, principal economist at the Competition Commission (CompCom); and Andrew Partridge, an agricultural economist at the Western Cape government. Abrahams said the cost of a ‘basket’ of staple food items had risen by an average of R293, or 9,1%, over the past seven months. He added that the country’s minimum wage fell…

A collaboration of big names in international agriculture and community empowerment recently announced the Zambia Emerging Farmers Partnership project intended to increase the productivity, income and sustainable farming practices of 10 000 developing crop farmers in that country. A joint statement issued by two of the collaborators, Corteva Agriscience (Corteva) and development organisation, Global Communities, said ways in which these Zambian farmers, of whom 30% were women, would be supported included being supplied with educational resources, farming technologies, and access to capital for production. The statement explained that Corteva’s agronomists would work directly with the farmers to promote their adoption of hybrid seed, crop protection products, and sustainable farming practices. John Deere would assist with facilitating access to mechanisation for optimal production and harvesting, while Global Communities, together with the…

Lobsters appear to be the latest victims of escalating trade tensions between Australia and China. According to Australian Associated Press (AAP), tons of live Australian rock lobsters were left on the tarmac at a Chinese airport recently due to delays in customs clearance. “We are aware of reports of customs clearance issues related to premium shellfish imports into China, and are working closely with the industry to secure clarity on this matter,” Australian trade minister, Simon Birmingham, told AAP. “So far as any industry concerns imply, [it is] a breach of World Trade Organization or China-Australia Free Trade Agreement commitments; Chinese authorities should rule out the use of any such discriminatory actions.” Chinese customs officials were believed to be testing the lobsters for trace elements of minerals and metals. Agriculture…

The South African government’s plans to increase the capacity and reliability of the country’s currently stressed electricity supply, including through the use of renewable energy production, is likely to see wind energy contributing close to 18GW to the national grid by 2030. The wind energy sector already had 2GW installed operational capacity, and an additional 1,4GW close to being operational. This was according to Ntombifuthi Ntuli, CEO of the South African Wind Energy Association, during her recent address at the 2020 Windaba virtual conference. Ntuli said South Africa’s 2019 Integrated Resource Plan had allocated 1,6GW per annum of new wind energy production between 2022 and 2030. Commenting on government’s recently announced Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan, Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe said expanding South Africa’s energy generation…

Nicol Jansen, president of Agri Northern Cape, has appealed to President Cyril Ramaphosa to create an environment that is conducive to the agriculture sector and government working together in a sustainable manner. In his president’s report presented during the recent 2020 Agri Northern Cape virtual congress, Jansen said it was becoming increasingly “uncomfortable” for industry members to regularly be accused by some political leaders and their spokespersons of having “stolen the land”, while they were in fact struggling to pay off R168 billion in agricultural debt. About 60% of the debt was owed to commercial banks, while 29% was in the form of Land Bank loans. According to Jansen, the culprits making such irresponsible statements were never prosecuted or reprimanded in public, and the sector had to endure such accusations…

Food security is defined as having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food. Until recently, most politicians thought that food security simply depended on a country’s ability to obtain the food needed for its inhabitants at affordable prices. To them, it was immaterial whether the food was produced locally or imported. As long as the price was right, everything was fine. This reasoning is based on the smooth integration of the world’s food supply chains. Global stocks of basic foods are generally readily available, usually at relatively affordable prices. Trade liberalisation, driven largely by richer countries working together within the World Trade Organization, has resulted in lower tariffs and fewer trade restrictions to the global food trade. The COVID-19 pandemic saw this entire situation change. Borders were…

COP UNDER COVER by Johann van Loggerenberg (Jonathan Ball, R275) Former South African Revenue Services enforcement head Van Loggerenberg hit the bestseller lists with Rogue and Tobacco Wars. Now he delves much further back into an even murkier time. This memoir begins with his early days in the police force, which he joined at his father’s suggestion in 1987, and goes on to describe his undercover service with anti-drug units and on the trail of would-be diamond smugglers. Looking back, he now believes that, despite some later psychiatric counselling, leading a double life as an undercover agent left him with post-traumatic stress disorder and stole a decade of his life. Even more fundamentally, it robbed him of a life stage during which he should have reached personal maturity.…

North West 25 NOVEMBER • 3 van die Bestes Simmentaler Auction, Vryburg Showgrounds. On offer: 30 bulls and 50 commercial female animals (in all stages of production). Phone Botter Marais on 082 333 0915. KwaZulu-Natal 25 NOVEMBER • Glen and Vida Rafferty Auction, Serpentine, Normandien. On offer: 620 Brahman-type cattle, including 150 + 150 cows and calves, 135 cows (currently calving), 58 heifers (born 2019), 90 heifers (born 2018), 24 oxen and 13 Brahman and Limousin bulls. Phone Jan Mostert on 083 306 8408. Limpopo 26 NOVEMBER • Vleissentraal Bosveld Production Sale, Bela-Bela Auction Pens. On offer: 180 Bonsmara-type animals, including 30 three-in-one cows, 50 cows with calves and 100 in-calf cows; 180 Bosvelder-type animals, including 40 in-calf cows, 70 heifers (born 2018) and 70 heifers (born 2019); 12 Brahman-type…

The 4th Agri Revolution 26 TO 27 NOVEMBER THE AGRICO INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE INCLUDES A WIDE RANGE OF SPEAKERS IN THE AGRICULTURE SECTOR ACROSS THE WORLD, AND WILL FOCUS ON THE 4TH AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION, GROWING POPULATIONS AND CHANGES IN FARMING SYSTEMS. CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS & EXPOS 23 TO 24 NOVEMBER Nigeria Postharvest and Agroprocessing Summit (webinar).Visit agriquestafrica.com/niphas. 26 TO 27 NOVEMBER AGRICO International Conference (webinar). Visit agroconference.com, or email info@agroconference.com. 26 TO 27 NOVEMBER Emerging Farmers and Agro-processing Conference, Protea Hotel Fire and Ice, Menlyn, Pretoria. Email Lindokuhle Nxumalo at lindo@empiretraining.co.za. 9 TO 10 DECEMBER Manufacturing Indaba (webinar).Visit manufacturingindaba.co.za/ conference. COURSES & TRAINING 23 TO 25 NOVEMBER Pig Farm Training, Groenkloof, Pretoria. Email Agri Skills Transfer at admin@agriskills.net, or phone 012 460 9585. 23 TO 27 NOVEMBER Hydroponics, Buhle Farmers’ Training Academy,…

With the lingering after-effects of a crippling drought, and the National Water and Sanitation Master Plan likely to kick in next year, it was time that all stakeholders in South African agriculture started taking responsibility for their role in protecting the country’s scarce freshwater resources. This was according to water conservation and water law experts, who were speaking during Nedbank’s webinar, ‘The future of water in South Africa’s agricultural sector’, held on 3 November. Shelly Fuller, programme manager of sustainable fruit and wine projects at the Worldwide Fund for Nature South Africa, said agriculture used the largest proportion of South Africa’s surface and groundwater resources. While the sector made vital contributions to the country’s economy and society, it had to proactively implement meaningful actions to conserve water for its own…

Amendments to the regulations for new electricity generation published in the Government Gazette by Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe last month paves the way for municipalities to generate their own electricity, or procure it from suppliers other than Eskom. Prof Sampson Mamphweli, director for renewable and sustainable energy studies at Stellenbosch University, said this was great news for farmers, as it would create opportunities for them to host renewable energy generation projects and get paid for the leasing of their land, regardless of where they were situated. “It does not matter where the farm is located, because the electricity is fed onto the national utility grid for wheeling to the particular municipality. Farmers who are in areas where there is a lot of solar and wind resources,…

UNITED KINGDOM According to the UK government, the Trade and Agriculture Commission set up to scrutinise trade deals will be placed “on a full statutory footing”. This watchdog body would give farmers a stronger voice with regard to food standards and UK trade policy. This followed a campaign by industry leaders who said UK farmers would be undermined if post-Brexit trade deals resulted in substandard food imports, arguing that cheap, substandard imports would undermine farmers’ livelihoods, as well as being bad for consumers, the environment and animal welfare. INDIA India’s union commerce minister, Piyush Goyal, has announced that the country would be importing more than 30 000t of onions and potatoes in a bid to stem rising prices of these commodities on local markets. Unpredictable rainfall patterns, restrictions on transportation,…

It has been a decade since concerns about various suspicious land transactions in Mpumalanga were first raised, but arrests related to these are finally being made. The long-running investigations and subsequent arrests stemmed from historic transactions in which private individuals or companies purchased farms and then soon thereafter sold them to Mpumalanga’s Department of Human Settlements for vastly inflated prices. The original investigations into these transactions in late 2011 were motivated by the DA in Mpumalanga after, as Farmer’s Weekly reported in late 2013, the party became suspicious about the fact that the 414ha Rietspruit farm near Ermelo was reportedly bought by a small Barbertonbased furniture company, Bongiveli, for R11,97 million. The same property was soon thereafter bought by the department for R36,48 million, ostensibly to be used by the…

South Africa still has a long way to go to address gender inequality, according to various panellists who participated in a recent webinar hosted by Corteva Agriscience in partnership with the Gordon Institute of Business Science. As part of the two entities’ partnership, a tailor-made programme would kick off in January 2021 to assist female producers to develop their entrepreneurial, business and leadership skills. During the webinar, Lithu Kutta, Tiger Brand’s enterprise and supplier development director, voiced his concern about “[the] funding and securing of supply contracts with [female] farmers, which is not only resulting in little progress in addressing inequalities, but also in [women] still being highly under-represented in this male-dominated sector”. “We need to ring-fence specific opportunities for women to address inequality and only after that will it…

The majority of crime cases on farms occurred in the northern, eastern and central parts of South Africa. This was according to Major-General (retired) Chris van Zyl, assistant general manager of TAU SA, who was speaking during a recent webinar discussing the issue of farm security. He said the country’s borders with Lesotho, Mozambique and Zimbabwe was a major contributing factor to crime on farms. He added that it allowed for easy cross-border movement of not only criminals, but also of stolen property, such as vehicles or livestock. He ascribed the recent spike in farm attacks to the South African Police Service’s (SAPS) lack of capacity at a local level, amongst other issues. Prioritising on-farm crimes, gender-based violence, cash-in-transit robberies, gang violence and corruption without sufficient capacity at area or…

The Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU) has urgently appealed to the country’s charcoal producers and farming communities to work together to prevent wildfires. Roelie Venter, CEO of NAU, told Farmer’s Weekly the organisation received almost daily complaints about wildfires originating from charcoal production operations on farms. “It’s of the essence that both sectors join hands to avoid and manage veldfires and the devastating damage they cause. Charcoal producers and the farming sector as a whole need to familiarise themselves with the prevention [methods] as set out by the Directorate of Forestry.” The directorate introduced new measures to reduce the risk of fires emanating from charcoal production earlier this year, which would be in force from August until the end of December every year. According to the Namibian Debushing Advisory Service, wood…

Ensuring compliance and having access to the expertise of a master/ head grower are the two most important requirements for obtaining a licence and operating a successful cannabis cultivation business. As is widely known, a licence is required to grow cannabis commercially. The type of licence, and hence the regulations set, depend on the end-form and cannabinoid profile of the product, whether it is flower, oil, biomass or terpenes. This in turn is dictated by the buyer. In summary, the bulk of the facility must be equipped to produce exactly what the buyer requires, with some room for diversification. Countries that constantly change their legislative policies due to new governance, corruption or instability are not good candidates for growers. Typically, construction phases can range from one to two years, with…

Wheat blast, caused by the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae pathotype Triticum (MoT) (syn Pyricularia oryzae), was reported for the first time on wheat in 1985 in Brazil and has subsequently spread across most wheat-producing areas of that country. The disease has the potential to cause yield losses of up to 100% on susceptible cultivars. SYMPTOMS Wheat blast infects the leaves and heads of the crop, but the canopy often remains green. Infection starts as brown to black spots, and eventually the entire spike above the infection points dries out and has a bleached or straw-like appearance. Infected wheat heads produce shrivelled, poor-quality grain or fail to produce any grain at all. Wheat blast symptoms on the head resemble those of Fusarium head blight, but wheat blast lacks the characteristic pinkish discolouration…

‘Unemployment’ and ‘hunger’ pop up again and again in media headlines as the drastic effects of the COVID-19 lockdown take their toll on South Africa’s economy. On the flip side, we find that fresh fruit and vegetables have moved to centre stage in the multi-pronged strategies being offered to fight the pandemic. This is hardly surprising; as I’ve often written, fresh produce has always been among our ‘frontline troops’ in the war against disease and hunger. And lately, they are proving once again that it’s not just malnutrition they fight, but unemployment. AN ARMY OF VENDORS The late Bertie van Zyl, founder of the huge ZZ2 agricultural operation, famously said that a fresh produce market was the cheapest creator of employment. Almost anyone could visit a market and buy some…

Very few battery-powered electric multicopter drones can fly for longer than 30 minutes. Hybrid models, however, are achieving dramatically longer flight times. Here are two examples of this new approach: • Record-breaker The HYBRiX 2.1 from Quaternium (quaternium.com) is a petrol/battery hybrid quadcopter that is claimed to have a flight time of up to four hours per fill/charge. It recently set a new record of 10 hours 14 minutes hovering in one position. This was made possible with an oversized 16l fuel tank and a new fuel injection system from Löweheiser. In its off-the-shelf form, the HYBRiX 2.1 weighs 13kg, can carry up to 10kg of cargo or accessories, and flies at a cruising speed of 50km/h with a top end of 80km/h. • Sheer power Drone for Agro (drone4agro.com) is a…

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? Given the uncertainty about South Africa’s land issue, safety and efficiencies, I’d spend it on first and second steps downstream in the value chain, which would include processing and packaging. What is the best advice you have ever been given, and who gave it to you? If your dreams don’t scare you, dream again. This was advice I received from Dr Theo de Jager, chairperson of the Southern African Agri Initiative and president of the World Farmers’ Organisation. If you were given carte blanche to effect one major change in South Africa tomorrow, how would you use this power? I would privatise…