The ‘intentions to plant’ data provided tentative evidence that South Africa could have another good production season, which might keep the country’s grain supplies in good shape at least until 2020.

Move over tea. South African coffee beans have climbed to the top of the status ladder in popularity around the globe in recent years. There are several reasons why coffee beans from South Africa are unique compared to other beans.

This week ended with some positive news in terms of production. South African farmers intend to increase the area planted to summer grain and oilseed by 5 percent from the 2017/18 production season to 4.03 million tonnes.

It's an all-out bakkie war in Mzansi with German automakers Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen keen on challenging the dominance of perennial favourites Toyota and Ford. 

"The general assumption that the interest rate policy of the Reserve Bank and all the other central banks in the world can contain inflation, protect the exchange rate and promote economic growth by stabilising prices is the biggest single delusion in total economic science," says Fanie Brink, an independent agricultural economist.

Owner of Ant’s Nest and Ant’s Hill Bush Homes, Ant Baber is a descendant of one of the first English families to settle in the Waterberg in 1886. Over 130 years later, the land still holds much of its original appeal, and continues to attract people from far and wide.

President Cyril Ramaphosa declared an end to South Africa's proverbial 'investment strike', when he unveiled firm investment commitments of R209-billion across a diverse range of sectors, from mining and energy to infrastructure and manufacturing, at a well attended and vibrant investment conference.

In the 2018 year South African growers packed an all-time record of 16.4 million cartons of 17kgs each of grapefruit for export, end-of-season numbers from the Citrus Growers Association (CGA)show.

South Africa’s land expropriation debate continues to roil everyone from farmers to foreign investors and financial institutions. What has the government done to address land reform?  

Cotton is mostly grown in monoculture and is a very pesticide-intensive crop. Although it is only grown on 2.5% of the world’s agricultural land, it consumes 16% of all the insecticides and 6,8% of all herbicides used worldwide.

It’s easy to get mopey and depressed when you read the papers. Violent crime. Rampant corruption. Failing education. Weakening Rand.

In 2017, South African agricultural exports grew past US$10.0 billion for the first time, boosted by growth in exports of edible fruits, beverages, spirits, vegetables, grains and other agricultural products. This is a 15 percent increase from 2016 – a year that was characterised by El Nino induced drought.

Agri SA strongly condemns the continued violence that the farming community and fellow South Africans face daily. The Minister of Police, Bheki Cele announced the latest national crime statistics in parliament this morning. It is worrying that 62 farm murders occurred during 2017/2018. It is 15 murders more than what was announced in parliament earlier this year.  

South Africa’s summer crops could have a good start of the season as the weather forecasts for the next two weeks show prospects of rainfall over most parts of the country.

South Africa and neighbouring Namibia met to share notes, best practice and common interest in rural development and land reform.

A plan to expropriate land without compensation will benefit a small number of citizens if successfully implemented but will be disastrous for most people if it goes awry, the Institute of Race Relations warned.

The benefits of improvements in the Western Cape’s weather conditions are evident in the third quarter agricultural jobs data, which boosted the overall sectoral employment by 3% y/y to 842 000 jobs.

Admittedly, it is too early to tell how most Southern African countries will cope with the expected weak El Niño in the summer season.

Between October and February, which is typically planting to pollination, the weather becomes an important factor in the South African grains and oilseeds market and, to some extent, a major driver of prices.