Cotton, the ‘white gold’ of dryland crop production in SA
Cotton production in the North West has proved to be a viable alternative to maize and soya bean, with the profitability of cotton exceeding that of maize and soya bean despite extremely high input costs. Annelie Coleman attended a cotton information day in Schweizer-Reneke and compiled this report.
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Sustainable agriculture: A smart investment for farmers
Sustainability is not just about protecting the environment for future generations; it can also be good for business. A recent panel discussion at Nampo Cape, South Africa, concluded that sustainable agriculture practices can provide significant financial benefits to farmers.
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Securing the world’s food production for the future
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault’s purpose is to ensure that humankind can continue producing a diversity of food crops, even in the case of a ‘Doomsday Event’.
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Earthworms contribute to nearly 7% of the world’s annual grain yield
Grains trust: In addition to their contribution to the world’s annual grain yield, earthworms also contribute to the production of over 140 million metric tonnes of legumes each year.
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Rising costs takes its toll on the blueberry industry
Blueberry producers internationally are consolidating and using new technologies and genetics to survive the price cost squeeze, according to the recently released Global State of the Blueberry Industry Report 2023.
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Benefit from agrochemicals, but avoid the hazards!
Agrochemicals are often used as a scapegoat for agriculture’s impact on the environment, yet these chemicals do not by definition harm the environment, and they play an important part in food production, according to Dr Gerhard Verdoorn of CropLife South Africa.
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Erroneous citrus black spot classification threatens exports
First, it was false codling moth, and now the EU using citrus black spot (CBS) as an excuse to block citrus exports from South Africa.
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Well-managed dams and smart forecasting can limit flooding in a world of extreme storms.
As rising global temperatures make extreme storms more common, the nation’s dams and reservoirs – crucial to keeping communities dry – are being tested. California and states along the Mississippi River have faced similar flood control challenges in 2023. Managing these flood control systems is a careful balancing act. Do managers release water to make room for the storm’s runoff, increasing…
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Meet the 12-year-old ‘farmer’, who is already planting seeds to tackle food insecurity
Fred Junior, 12, is a farming prodigy in the North West.
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Preventing and controlling diseases of sunflowers
Diseases of sunflowers, such as brown rust and head rot, can cause severe economic losses for farmers. Janine Ryan looks at the signs of these and other diseases that can help farmers to identify them, as well as some control and prevention strategies.
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