Making its debut appearance at NAMPO Cape in Bredasdorp this year, geared motor specialist SEW-EURODRIVE is all set to excite the farming community with even more solutions to drive productivity and efficiency. From its firm footprint in the agricultural sector – through packhouses and bottling facilities countrywide – SEW-EURODRIVE now takes its offerings onto the […]
THE Overberg is putting her best foot forward for NAMPO Cape, which this year will be presented by Grain SA and Bredasdorp Park NPC on Bredasdorp Park from 11-14 September 2024. This marks the 5th presentation of NAMPO Cape and the 30th anniversary of the first Mechanisation Day which took place in 1994. Since its […]
The use of new farming technology is on the rise in South Africa and has the potential to enhance productivity and efficiency, which is good news for farm owners. But, as Gift Mwonzora writes, it may be bad news for farm workers whose job security may be under threat. Across South Africa, farms are ramping […]
It is no secret that maize is one of the most important crops worldwide, and at the rate at which maize plantings increase with each new season, it will probably overtake wheat plantings by 2030. This is largely due to meet the increasing demand for human consumption, livestock and industrial use. White maize is primarily […]
Drones are being used for various tasks in South Africa, from farming to crime fighting. Vergelegen wine estate in Somerset West uses drones to deliver beneficial inspectors to control pests in its vineyard. The aim is to reduce vine disease and produce higher-quality grapes by ensuring that the current 20-25-year-old vineyards can stay healthy for […]
A newly published review of the CABI-led Pest Risk Information Service (PRISE) project shows that smallholder farmers in four African countries who received pest alerts created using earth observation data benefitted from reduced crop losses and higher incomes compared to farmers who did not. Crop pests are the major cause of loss of smallholder productivity resulting in negative […]
William M. Ciesla is Forest Protection Officer, FAO Forest Resources Development Branch. The gentle rolling hills of central Kenya present an attractive landscape. This is a region of small farms and pastures interspersed with patches of native forest, woodlots and wind-breaks. Typically, the woodlots and wind-breaks are plantations of Mexican cypress, Cupressus lusitanica Mill., a straight, fast-growing tree […]
In 2016, an infestation of fall armyworms hit a vast swath of Africa, alarming farmers and governments. Eight years on, experts say that crop losses from the agricultural pest are less severe than initially feared. A key lesson learned is that an agroecological approach to pest control — and not the indiscriminate use of pesticides […]
Control and management of desert locusts and other pests that threaten food security in eastern and northern Africa are the main agenda of an ongoing Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) meeting in Nairobi. Starting yesterday, agriculture ministers, heads of delegations, and representatives of IGAD member states have been meeting in Nairobi to lay out strategies […]
Stronger legislation is needed to curb the influx of illegal pesticide products in Africa, says chemicals risk expert Fredrick Otieno. [NAIROBI] Africa is using more pesticides, but there aren’t enough laws, rules, and policies to protect farmers from the harmful effects, Fredrick Otieno, chemicals risk manager and environmental planner at the Centre for Environmental Justice and Development in […]
