Farmer's Weekly 5 August 2022

I have brought up the topic of farmers being the scapegoats for climate change and society’s various ills many times in the past, but I was once again reminded of this issue when I read an article recently about a research project being conducted at University College Dublin (UCD) in Ireland. The project has been ongoing since 2021, and focuses on identifying the risk factors for poor mental health and suicide among farmers. The topic of mental health and suicide is a difficult one for many to discuss, and it remains taboo in many cultures. However, we cannot ignore the mental health of farmers. According to studies in India, Sri Lanka, the US, Canada, England and Australia, farming was identified as one of the most dangerous industries to work in, and…

“Despite hopes that the world would emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 and food security would begin to improve, the level of world hunger rose further last year. After remaining relatively unchanged since 2015, the prevalence of undernourishment (PoU) jumped from 8% in 2019 to 9,3% in 2020, and then to 9,8% in 2021. It is estimated that between 702 million and 828 million people were affected by hunger last year. That number has grown by around 150 million since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic (103 million more people between 2019 and 2020, and 46 million more in 2021). The further increase in global hunger in 2021 reflects exacerbated inequalities across and within countries due to an unequal pattern of economic recovery, and the unrecovered income losses among those most…

The International Fresh Produce Association’s Southern Africa Conference presents an opportunity for all stakeholders in the fresh produce and floral supply chain to network with their peers and colleagues, while learning more about the challenges facing the fresh produce and floral industries. Some of topics to be discussed include digital innovation, the agriculture master plan, and South Africa’s logistics challenges. (See page 16 for more information.) Email membershipsa@freshproduce.com. CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS AND EXPOS 16 TO 18 AUGUST South African Sugar TechnologistsAssociation Congress, ICC, Durban.Email sasta@sugar.org.za. 29 AUGUST TO 2 SEPTEMBER Southern Africa’s Agri-TechTrends and Technology, Pretoria.Visit africa-agri.co.za/#goingforward. COURSES AND TRAINING 2 AUGUST Holistic Drought ManagementWorkshop, Montagu Country Hotel.Visit capeleopard.org.za. 15 TO 19 AUGUST Introduction to Poultry Production,Agricultural Research Council, Pretoria.Email Mpho Makhanya at makhanyam@arc.agric.za, or phone 012 672 9153. 22 TO 26 AUGUST Academy Poultry Module, George.Email Rothman Livestock and TrainingServices at office@RLTSafrica.com. 28 AUGUST TO…

As owners of a significant number of livestock, smallholder farmers can play an important role in contributing to food security, employment, and poverty alleviation in the country. However, a lack of knowledge about good farming practices is often a hindrance to successful and profitable livestock production in the small-scale farming community, with herd diseases and animal mortalities often leading to losses and posing a serious threat to livelihoods. The Faculty of Veterinary Science at the University of Pretoria (UP) has a long history of providing support to farmers close to its Onderstepoort campus. About 30 years ago, a mobile outreach clinic was set up as an extension of the Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital (OVAH) to offer basic clinic services to resource-poor individuals in the Hammanskraal and Ratjiepane areas. This was followed by…

MOST POPULAR ON FARMERSWEEKLY.CO.ZA ‘CONSUMERS MUST BRACE THEMSELVES FOR INTEREST RATE HIKE THIS WEEK’ South African businesses and consumers should prepare themselves for an interest rate hike of between 50 and 75 basis points to be announced by the South African Reserve Bank on 21 July 2022. Read the full article at bit.ly/3zk7ZzM, or scan here: Posted: 19 July 2022. Follow us at @FarmersWeeklySA FROM FACEBOOK @FarmersWeeklySA When FW posted a link to an article titled ‘Outcry over continued donkey skin exports’, some of our followers shared their strong opinions on the issue. Posted: 19 July 2022. READERS’ COMMENTS Christine Finniss: “We are allowing this to happen. We are complicit.” Dumisani Mthembu: “[It is] very concerning that our government’s lawlessness is now impacting on these poor animals.” Jack Lewis: “Animals have rights.” Joseph Jayiya: “Disgusting.” PHOTO OF THE WEEK Thapz @Thapz_kgopo “When your animals are more…

While farming butterflies can be hard work, this article showed that it can also be very rewarding, providing certain criteria are met. Butterfly parks can be found in literally every country in the world, so Esther van der Westhuizen and her mother Matty Pretorius decided to start one in South Africa a few years ago. Today they have the only large butterfly park in the country, the idea for which they got after seeing butterfly parks during a visit to Canada some four years ago. After visiting Malaysia to look at butterfly parks there, and conducting a thorough market study, they decided there definitely was a market for such an operation in South Africa. Eventually they took the plunge and started [what was then called] Butterfly World at Klapmuts, near Paarl in the…