Farmer's Weekly 20 January 2023

In Parliament recently, DA leader John Steenhuisen asked how bad South Africa's crime statistics needed to be before President Cyril Ramaphosa replaced Bheki Cele as minister of police. In a written response to Steenhuisen, Ramaphosa said that there was “no direct correlation between levels of crime and the performance of the minister of police”. As many Farmer's Weekly readers know, I am highly critical of the failures of South Africa's government, and the impediments that the lack of service delivery have on the future economic and agricultural growth of our country. But Ramaphosa's response caught me somewhat off-guard. Following his re-election as president of the ANC, and thus his potential re-election as South Africa's president in the 2024 general election, I thought Ramaphosa would show greater interest in the increase in…

The views expressed in our weekly opinion piece do not necessarily reflect those of Farmer's Weekly. This article was originally published by The Conversation. To read the original article, visit bit.ly/3Wz6LcR. “Interventions to improve nutrition, especially for children and pregnant women, can be critical for health, physical growth and cognitive development, enabling better lives and futures. Reams of policy papers will attest to the fact that if a government or a donor spends substantially on nutrition, the rxeturn on their investment, in lives improved or saved, will be high. Less well known is that the full rewards of nutrition support for the neediest children don't always materialise. Nutrition interventions on their own are not fulfilling their full potential for all who receive them. This is because context influences an intervention's value at the time…

23 to 25 January, George The Cattle Artificial Insemination course offers a solid foundation for new or established cattle farming. The course covers important aspects such as infertility, oestrus observation, farm routines, cattle health and more to help farmers improve their breeding management. Phone Lily Rothman on 078 546 7985. CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS AND EXPOS 20 TO 24 MARCH Africa Regional Apimondia (bee) Symposium, Inkosi Albert Luthuli Convention Centre, Durban. Visit apimondiaafrica2023.org.za. 24 TO 26 MARCH Cannabis Expo, GrandWest, Cape Town. Visit thecannabisexpo.co.za. COURSES AND TRAINING 18 JANUARY TO 10 MARCH Online Field Guide Course. Email Meagan Gilfillan at enquiries@ecotraining.co.za, or phone her on 013 752 2532. 26 JANUARY Cattle Pregnancy Awareness, George. Email Rothman Livestock and Training Services at office@RLTSafrica.com. 28 TO 29 JANUARY Understanding Aquaponics, Cape Town. Phone Aquaponics Africa on 010 025 9005, or 076 349 7406. Email info@ichthys.co.za. 31 JANUARY TO 14…

Fashion group H&M and BKB, a leading supplier of Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) wool, have teamed up to implement their Biodiversity Restoration and Regenerative Land Management project. H&M Group sources most of the wool for its products from RWScertified farms in South Africa. The project aims to not only build on the existing criteria for the sourcing of RWS wool, but to also go beyond the holistic scope of social standards and animal welfare. REDUCING ITS FOOTPRINT A biodiversity footprint assessment has revealed that H&M Group has a large impact on biodiversity through the wool sourced from South Africa, since the land used for grazing is considered to have high conservation value. ‘H&M GROUP IS COMMITTED TO REDUCING ITS BIODIVERSITY FOOTPRINT’ The project incorporates both H&M Group's need for a scalable solution to decrease its…

Follow us at @FarmersWeeklySA ©FarmersWeeklySA We asked the farmers who follow us on Facebook what their goals for 2023 are, and this is what some of them had to say. Posted: 31 December 2022. READERS’ COMMENTS David Fincham: “Farm more fish and feed more people. [Educate] more farmers to do the same.” Zweli B. Ntuii: “Implement climate change mitigation strategies in order to continue to increase production.” Thabo Maripane: “Converting to solar [power] and reducing my reliance on Eskom [for power].” Devine Jacksonah SB Katjiruru: “[Become] a full-time farmer.” Kelly-Crystal Söjblom: “[Expand] our pasture-raised egg farm, and [add] beef and honey to our offering. Feeding people beautiful nutrient-rich foods. Bring on 2023!” Want your photo to be featured as our ‘Photo of the Week’? Tag @FarmersWeeklySA on Twitter or Instagram to be considered! PHOTO OF THE WEEK MOTANA @nok_mot “Farming is a…

INDIA: EXTREME SPELLS OF HEAVY RAINFALL HURTING PINEAPPLE FARMING Pineapple fanners in India say the cultivation of the fruit in Kerala and the neighbouring district of Karnataka is declining due to extreme spells of heavy rainfall that are damaging both plants and production. – thehindu.com RURAL FARMERS IN UKRAINE TO BENEFIT FROM R263 MILLION PROJECT Smallholder farmers in Ukraine will benefit from a US$15,5 million (about R263 million) project funded by the EU and implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. – agriland.ie COST OF LIVING IN UK: FRESH FOOD PRICES ROSE AT RECORD RATE PRIOR TO CHRISTMAS Fresh food prices in the UK rose at a record rate in December 2022, at a time when many families would have been stocking up for Christmas, according to figures from the British Retail Consortium. –…