Farmer's Weekly 3 February 2023

As we enter the second month of the new year, and South Africa continues to be hit with stages four, five and six of load-shedding, I am reminded that 2024 is now only 11 months away, and there are many things that government must act on to ensure that 2023, 2024 and the years to come are successful ones for the agriculture sector. As an essential employer of South African people, and the key to our food security, the agriculture sector must be bolstered and supported as much as possible. This doesn't mean handouts; local farmers are more than capable of running successful capitalist businesses without the aid of the taxpayer. However, this does mean that government must provide the basic services which it has a constitutional duty to provide. After making…

The views expressed in our weekly opinion piece do not necessarily reflect those of Farmer's Weekly. This article was first published by The Conversation. To read the original article, visit bit.ly/3Xge4GY. "It's a grim and all too common sight for rangers in some of Africa's nature reserves: the bullet-riddled carcass of an elephant, its tusks removed by poachers. African elephant populations have fallen by about 30% since 2006. Poaching has driven the decline. Some reserves, such as Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nyerere National Park in Tanzania, have lost hundreds of elephants to poachers over the past decade. But others, such as Etosha National Park in Namibia, have been targeted far less. What might explain this difference? We investigated why poaching rates vary so widely across Africa and…

29 to 31 March, Radisson Blu Hotel, Sandton. The Water Quality Management and Risk Assessment Workshop focuses on the technical and practical aspects of water and wastewater treatment, the regulatory requirements needed for Blue Drop and Green Drop status, and best practices to meet the Blue Drop/Green Drop criteria. Email info@mathema.co.za. CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS AND EXPOS 20 TO 24 MARCH Africa Regional Apimondia (bee) Symposium, Inkosi Albert Luthuli Convention Centre, Durban. Visit apimondiaafrica2023.org.za. 20 TO 31 MARCH Smart Farming: Transforming Agriculture for Sustainable Food Security in Africa, Protea Hotel Fire & Ice! Pretoria. Phone Edna Lupiya on 011 862 4001. 24 TO 26 MARCH Cannabis Expo, GrandWest, Cape Town. Visit thecannabisexpo.co.za. COURSES AND TRAINING 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 MARCH Citrus Planting Management (online). Phone…

Give a person vegetables, and you feed them for a day; empower a person to grow their own vegetables, and they will feed themselves and their loved ones for a lifetime. This is the practical wisdom that inspired the team at Laeveld Agrochem (LAC) to come up with their innovative AgricultSURE vegetable seed packets. The company has now taken this initiative to the next level with the launch of its Food for Good Challenge, which allows people to order seed packets to donate to others, thus enabling them to grow their own home vegetable gardens. At a cost of R259, each seed packet can produce up to 150kg of vegetables. The packets comprise seeds for eight varieties of vegetable, an illustrated instruction guide, fertiliser, soil-enhancement and integrated pest management products, as well as…

MOST POPULAR ON FARMERSWEEKLY.CO.ZA ILLICIT TRADE DEALS SA TOBACCO INDUSTRY ANOTHER BLOW British American Tobacco South Africa, the country's largest tobacco manufacturer, has entered into a process of restructuring prompted by an "explosion in illicit tobacco sales". This follows the ban on cigarette sales during the COVID-19-related lockdown restrictions in 2020, the company said in a statement. Read the full article at bit.ly/3WnjfUj, or scan here: Posted: 17 January 2023. Follow us at @FarmersWeeklySA FROM FACEBOOK @FarmersWeeklySA We posted a link to an article titled 'Rolling blackouts: SA irrigation farmers at risk of losing it all', and some of our followers gave us their thoughts on this serious issue. Posted: 17 January 2023. READERS' COMMENTS Gcobani Skomo: "This is threatening our food security and, more specifically, emerging farmers." Melissa Gonçalves: "Agricultural areas should be exempt from high stages of load-shedding." Desmond Ian…

In this second instalment of a two-part article that focused on raising pigs in outdoor enclosures, and how such a system could be profitable for farmers, we continue with housing for gestating sows. If the pregnant sows are kept in a permanent large enclosure, it is worth setting up a row of individual feeding stalls. No matter how far they wander, they will come running to the stalls when called at mealtimes. If sows in large herds are farrowed in batches, it is worth visiting the huts every day to take newborn pigs from big litters and add them to small ones. Evening up litter size in this way makes for a more uniform mass at weaning. When outside, sows seem to take to changelings more readily than when they are in farrowing…