Some of our most popular blogs have been where we answer queries from visitors. We thought it was time to do another one. Today a visitor asked advice on where to purchase a hard copy of a basic agriculture book.
Thank you for your query.
I will answer as best I can, but agriculture is quite a broad topic. Do you want technical information, like how to raise beef cattle for example, or how to grow soybeans? I don’t know a hard copy book that covers ALL the crops and livestock options. The books available usually focus on one particular crop of commodity e.g. beef or poultry. Kejafa Knowledge Works, one publisher, deals with agriculture under 14 different categories. Find the “Agriculture”option at www.kejafa.com.
The Agribook provides overviews of all the sectors within the agrifood chain, so that is a useful starting point. The last heading of each chapter is “Websites and publications” which focuses on where more information can be obtained. Although a lot of the information remains the same, I am reluctant to punt the hard copy we have in stock, except maybe at a discount, as it is over a year old. Of course you could print the relevant chapter from the PDF if you bought that (it’s more up to date).
Another source of useful information are the DALRRD websites (they have two at the moment, an old one and a new one). The grower guides and info paks provide useful technical information in a thorough but simple manner. This morning www.dalrrd.gov.za is working. You can find the “Old website” option on the bar at the top. The publications I am referring to are under “Resource Centre” on the old website. The Resource Centre at Steve Biko Street in Pretoria has hard copies of these publications, most of them are free. Of course you could download the book you want from the website and then print it yourself.
Another option would be to scout our website, www.agribook.co.za, for the commodity you are interested in and make a note of the publications listed there. The relevant DALRRD info paks and grower guides are listed on the relevant pages on our website. If you find a DALRRD info pak like “Basic care of your pigs” you can be fairly certain that we have listed it on our pigs page.
Lastly, you could inquire at your nearest college of agriculture or university for a list of publications. We list these institutions on our “Agriculture education and training” page at www.agribook.co.za/agricultural-training-and-careers/agricultural-education-and-training.
Best wishes,
Craig
Photo by Paz Arando on Unsplash
