60% of Africa’s food is based on wheat, rice and maize – the continent’s crop treasure trove is being neglected
By Craig Macaskill Posted 2024-01-15 In Blog Tafadzwanashe Mabhaudhi, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine African countries have become reliant on a few food items. Just 20 plant species now provide 90% of our food, with three – wheat, maize and rice – accounting for 60% of all calories consumed on the continent and globally. This deprives the continent of […]
Ultra-processed foods: here’s what the evidence actually says about them
By Craig Macaskill Posted 2024-01-17 In Blog Eric Robinson, University of Liverpool The perils of ultra-processed foods received widespread coverage in recent months – thanks in no small part to the publication and promotion of TV presenter and doctor of virology Chris Van Tulleken’s book Ultra-Processed People. Ultra-processed foods, in short, are commercially manufactured food products that include ingredients you wouldn’t cook […]
Ultra-processed foods: here’s what the evidence actually says about them
By Craig Macaskill Posted 2024-01-17 In Blog Eric Robinson, University of Liverpool The perils of ultra-processed foods received widespread coverage in recent months – thanks in no small part to the publication and promotion of TV presenter and doctor of virology Chris Van Tulleken’s book Ultra-Processed People. Ultra-processed foods, in short, are commercially manufactured food products that include ingredients you wouldn’t cook […]
An African history of cannabis offers fascinating and heartbreaking insights – an expert explains
By Craig Macaskill Posted 2024-01-19 In Blog Written by Chris S. Duvall, University of New Mexico When I tell people that I research cannabis, I sometimes receive a furtive gesture that implies and presumes: “We’re both stoners!”, as if two members of a secret society have met. Other times, I receive looks of concern. “You don’t want to be known as […]
Rural Crime and Farm Safety
Farm attacks, Tips for Security on the farm, Rural Safety Strategy (RSS)
Digital Agriculture
Introduction Following the introduction of mineral fertiliser, mechanisation and the industrialisation of the production process, digital agriculture brings the next major movement. It is part of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). Digital agriculture refers to the use of agricultural technology (AgriTech) and data-driven innovations to predict outcomes and guide the producer through every phase of […]
Our food system requires a radical overhaul – WWF report
By AgriBook Posted 2019-02-19 In Blog Cape Town (18 February 2019). We need a fundamental overhaul of our food system which, in its current form, is a threat to the environment and human health. This is the key message contained in a new WWF South Africa report titled “Agri-Food Systems: Facts and Futures” released today. The report notes that […]
Vegetables
Introduction Vegetables offer a unique market for the South African producer since they are a basic requirement of every person. Vegetables play a central role in addressing food security and providing nutritional supplements and requirements to people. Vegetable production is largely driven by the expansion of the domestic market and is important for job creation […]