Weeklikse Afrikaanse Landbou Nuusoorsig - Die Afrikaanse Nuus is die afgelope paar dae op AGRI NEWS NET geplaas, saam met nog ander artikels. 

Farmers will soon be able to apply for funding to invest in alternative energy sources to help alleviate the affect of load-shedding on irrigation and cold chain activities. The R2.5bn “agro-energy fund” will be set up at Land Bank, said agriculture minister Thoko Didiza. Through the fund, farmers will be able to receive grant funding of between R1.5m and R500,000 depending on the scale of their operations. Large-scale farmers will receive 30% grant funding to be matched with 70% loan portion, where the grant amount is capped at the maximum of R1.5m. A medium-scale farmer will receive a 50%` grant to be matched with 50% loan portion, where the grant is capped at the maximum of R1m.

Responding to Didiza’s speech, Christo van der Rheede, executive director of Agri SA, said the speech had been relatively positive, and showed that Didiza was doing her best with the limited budget available to the department. “The creation of the Agro-Energy Fund shows that the Minister realises that farmers cannot weather the impact of load-shedding on production, and ultimately the food security and job creation in the country, on their own. I just wonder what the size of this fund is,” he said. Meanwhile, Bennie van Zyl, general manager of TLU SA, said that the budget focussed too much on the development of subsistence farmers and made little mention of the difficulties and challenges faced by commercial farmers. “TLU SA understands that investment is needed in the development of new farmers to meet the demand for food, but this should not be at the expense of the farmers who are already doing it under challenging conditions,” he said. 

Suid-Afrika het nie meer swart, vroulike, blanke of manlike boere nodig nie.   Wat ons nodig het is suksesvolle boere wat hul rol kan speel om die meer as 68% van die inwoners wat verstedelik is van voldoende, bekostigbare en gesonde  voedsel te kan voorsien.   Die regering se taak is om ’n beleidsomgewing daar te stel wat die omgewing skep waar diegene wat in die landbou-waardeketting betrokke wil raak dit graag sal wil doen, omrede die nodige vertroue geskep word.  Daar is steeds geleentheid vir rolspelers en organisasies  wat hetsy direk of indirek hul verbind het tot die oorheersing van ’n ongekwalifiseerde transformasie gerigte landbouplan om te kom meedoen om seker te maak dat die ekonomiese beginsels sal seëvier.    

There is a 60% chance for a transition from Enso-neutral to El Niño during May-July 2023, and this will increase to about 70% in June-August and 80% between July and September.” This update from the WMO is the latest from a range of weather forecasters worldwide who predict an El Niño this year. The prospects have been increasing and the timeline shortening. This may have serious consequences for South Africa’s battered economy, notably the agricultural sector and food prices, as El Niño — triggered by a warming of surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific Ocean — typically heralds drought in southern Africa. Ocean surface temperatures in April reached record highs. READ MORE

Specifically, in the agriculture and food sector, the spread of mobile technologies, remote-sensing services and distributed computing are already improving smallholders’ access to information, inputs and markets, increasing production and productivity, streamlining supply chains and reducing operational costs. However, the ‘digitalization’ of agriculture and the food value chain has certain challenges to overcome. Issues such as cybersecurity and data protection, labour replacement and re-education and the risk of creating a digital divide between economies, sectors or individuals with differing abilities to adopt new technologies.  READ MORE 

Alle Suid Afrikaners wat die son oor mekaar wil sien skyn en in liefde en vrede wil werk en bou moet saam begin en ons land beskerm. Landbouers moet in beheer bly van voedselproduksie en seker maak dat hulle altyd voor is met tegnologie en die beste boerdery praktyke. Mense in ons land kyk te veel in ander mense se oe- luister te veel na politieke leiers se beloftes en volg hulle soos skape na 'n plek waar baie min gaan oorleef, behalwe die grootpraters wat voorloop en belastingeld vir hulle self verdien.'

Asia remains in the grip of a blistering heatwave, chiming with predictions from climate scientists that 2023 could be the world’s hottest year. In an ominous sign ahead of the northern hemisphere summer, an emerging El Niño weather pattern is pushing the mercury to unprecedented levels in southern parts of the continent. Vietnam reported its highest temperature of 44.2C over the weekend, triggering power shortage warnings, while Laos also likely broke records. The Philippines cut classroom hours after the heat index reached the “danger” zone, reflecting the potentially deadly combination of heat and humidity.

CRA MEDIA is tans besig met die ontwikkeling van 3 nuwe insetels vir ons mediums. 

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