Planting trees in grasslands won’t save the planet – rather protect and restore forests
Why rangelands matter, and why misguided initiatives here do more harm than good …
2024-04-23
No Comments
This week, for the first time since the launch of AgribookDigital, Finance for New Farmers & SMMEs lost its position as the most visited page, knocked off the number 1 spot by first Vegetables and then Business Directory!
And now we continue our weekly page looking at important news and interesting articles you may have missed over the past 7 days.
The Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Ms. Thoko Didiza, MP announced the outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) at Amathole District Municipality in Eastern Cape. This is the third of three challenges for the livestock industry this year.
The first was Foot and Mouth Disease (now behind us). The second is the lockdown, which has played havoc with livestock auctions. The Agbiz newsletter on Friday 8 May included an enforcement guideline from the South African Police Services which states at point 3.1 to Appendix 3: that auctions are a permitted activity and do not “constitute a gathering”.
The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development released data showing that this year’s summer grains harvest could amount to 17.5 million tonnes, which is a 31% increase from 2019 and the second biggest harvest in the history of this country. The press release is here.
The wine harvest too will be better than 2019, is the finding of the Vinpro South African Wine Harvest Report 2020.
The Citrus Growers Association (CGA) has issued a call for applications for a R307 million Economic Transformation of Black Citrus Growers Programme that has been launched. Black citrus farmers interested in applying for funding can visit https://cga-gdc.org.za/jobs-fund-application for more information and submit their application electronically.
In the Farmer’s Weekly article “Lessons learnt from land reform“, the Karsten Group and the Dutoit Group speak about their experience and how to make it work. Buying the farm with borrowed money doesn’t work, for example. And beneficiaries must receive some return from the very first year.
The Upgrading of Land Tenure Rights Amendment Bill was formally introduced into Parliament.
The Landbouweekblad article “Maak jou boerdery so droogtebestand” looked at the role of conservation agriculture to retain water in the soil and so drought-proof your land.
Why rangelands matter, and why misguided initiatives here do more harm than good …
Nitish Boodhoo, University of Guelph The confirmed presence of bird flu in American dairy cattle in a March 25 report from the U.S. Department of
Press release While life without plastic might be hard to imagine, there is a renewable, recyclable and sustainable alternative to single-use plastics and many other