Widespread rain is expected over the summer rainfall region during the next few days. The area of expected above-normal rainfall for this time of the year should include the entire maize-production region.

At South African fruit packhouses the flow of fruit hasn’t been significantly affected by the country’s electricity woes, but it is taking a tremendous amount of effort and extra capital from industry to keep the balls in the air.

My last column two weeks ago painted a bleak picture of SA’s 2019/2020 agricultural outlook, highlighting prospects of drought in some regions of the country. Lately, conditions have improved notably, and farmers managed to plant the area they intended.

“Cadre employment must stop and an effective civil service must be built up by appointing  competent people.

South Africa’s energy crisis has many dimensions, from political and economic to technical and environmental. Recently, the country’s power utility, Eskom, has been generating only about 60% of its capacity and has had to restrict usage to prevent a regional blackout.

Stable flies (Stomoxys calcitrans) are cold-blooded pests. They feed on the blood of their hosts, which include cattle, camels, horses, dogs and humans. During their feeding they can mechanically transmit viruses and bacteria that cause diseases like West Nile fever, Rift Valley fever and anthrax.