Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Minister Thoko Didiza, MP has today 17 February 2020, announced that the blanket ban on gatherings animals is now lifted, since the outbreak of Foot-and-Mouth three months ago in the Molemole District in Limpopo. The Minister’s decision follows the briefing she received from the technical task team over the weekend.

The nonprofit Agricultural Development Agency (Agda), launched on Tuesday, in Pretoria, is a cross-sector, government-supported and private-sector-led initiative to develop farmers by providing technical skills and private-sector financial support and linking the farmers into supply chains to ensure national land reform is successfully and sustainably achieved.

Two hundred and twenty-seven million of the world's chronically hungry live in Africa. This translates to about 30% of this group.

Agriculture is undergoing a technology revolution supported by policy-makers around the world. While smart technologies will play an important role in achieving improved productivity and greater eco-efficiency, critics have suggested that consideration of the social impacts is being side-lined.

The government has emphasised the need to support the agricultural sector as part of efforts to promote faster and sustained inclusive economic growth.

Veronica Braker has spent nearly her entire 27-year career in industries and roles traditionally dominated by men — manufacturing, engineering, plant management and agriculture — all while raising five children.

Canadian researchers have identified data ownership concerns as harmful to farmers’ return-on-investment, adding yet another barrier to precision-tech adoption.

 The outbreak of the coronavirus (Covid-19) in China is spreading across Asia and other regions of the world. The health implications of this virus on people also present risks for global value chains.

It was fitting that Minister Tito Mboweni announced that there would be a push towards creating jobs in agriculture, along with a R495.1 million pledge for the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development to improve compliance with biosecurity and support exports.

 With only a week after the first case of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was confirmed in South Africa (and two more cases since then), the fear of a spread of the virus is changing consumer behaviour and demand patterns.

Characterized by their flat, open pastures and abundance of nutrient-rich soil, more than a quarter of the world’s land—and about 70 percent of its agricultural land—is covered by grasslands.

 TLU SA announces guidelines on handling coronavirus on farms.

The statistics are unsettling, one-third of the earth’s area is degraded and already not fit to grow crops.

The COVID-19 outbreak has had profound impacts on everyday life and caused great concern about what lies ahead. The farm and food sectors have already been strongly affected and there is much more to come.

 South Africa’s farming sector is heavily in debt. As of 2018, the total farm debt was at record R168 billion. About 60% of the debt is with the commercial banks, 29% is with the Land Bank, with the rest spread between agricultural cooperatives, private persons and other institutions.

In terms of the Regulation No. 398 of the Disaster Management Act, 2002, the sector as a sector responsible for food security has been declared as essential.

Robovision develops and hires out artificial ‘brains’. These make it very easy for companies to automate complex production systems and machinery, such as a combine harvester. We spoke to Jonathan Berte, the (human!) brain behind the Belgian company Robovision.

Food products and nonalcoholic beverages have been classified as essential goods, and their production, distribution and retailing will continue during the 21-day coronavirus lockdown period. As such, one could expect the impact on the agricultural sector to be minimal, but is that true?

It’s a hot topic everywhere, and the 2020 Global Farmer Network Roundtable class has been discussing the impacts local to them – with each other – on social media. Stories vary around the world.

In "Africa’s Path to Growth: Sector by Sector", published in 2010, global consultancy McKinsey argues for a sectoral approach to development in Africa.