In the winter of 2016 the Constitutional Court handed down judgement in the Land Access Movement of South Africa (LAMOSA) case. Due to defective consultation in the provincial legislatures and National Council of Provinces, the court set aside the Amendment Bill that reopened the lodgement period for claims that initially closed in December 1998, whilst interdicting the Land Claims Commission from processing any new claims received before all of the pre-1998 claims were finalised. Theo Boshoff, Agbiz Head: Legal Intelligence, provides more information in the linked article»

This past week DRDLR made a most interesting presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Rural Development and Land Reform in Parliament. Among others, allocations to Land Reform, Land Restitution, Rural Development and Administration are provided, as well as the allocations to the respective provinces. Please click on ENE Presentation to peruse full presentation.

"The overemphasis on the Eastern Cape's economic challenges often overshadows the debate about its potential. It is true that the province's unemployment is above the national rate of 26.5%, with youth unemployment also higher than the national figure of 35.6%.  Yet the Eastern Cape plays an important role in SA's economy, contributing about 8% to national GDP. This makes it the fourth-largest contributor to GDP after Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape,"  writes Wandile Sihlobo, Agbiz Head: Economic and Agribusiness Intelligence, in his Business Day  column -  Read more»

South African farmers are gearing up for a big crop. This is reflected in the combine harvester sales, which reached 30 units in April 2017 - the highest monthly sales since February 2015. This uptick is on the back of an expected increase in activity during harvesting period and, to some extent, also a sign of improved financial conditions. The sales have been on the upward trend since the beginning of the year. Wandile Sihlobo provides more information in the linked update»

Daily commentaries on agricultural commodity markets and macro-economic trends are available on the Agbiz website  www.agbiz.co.za

To suggest that food tariffs are there to favour farmers at the expense of the poor is an attack on state institutions that play a vital social function.  The issue of rising food prices has been at the core of the policy discourse for some time, particularly, over the past year when the country experienced a perfect storm of a severe drought, and a volatile plus depreciating Rand. South Africa became a net importer of staple grains - such as maize and wheat - and we imported almost a third of our annual maize consumption and half of our wheat. The high level of staple grain imports exposed the market to the exchange rate shocks, which re-enforced the impact of rising food prices.  Read more in the linked article that was written by Agbiz economists, Tinashe Kapuya and Wandile Sihlobo.  

* This article was first published as a blog on www.huffingtonpost.co.za

On 2 May 2017, the Swedish Embassy hosted an event in Pretoria to engage South African agricultural stakeholders on the factors that are affecting competitiveness, value addition, and the investment environment in the sector. The general manager for Agbiz Grain, Mariana Purnell, moderated the discussion.  Tinashe Kapuya provides more information in the

linked article»

ChemChina has won around 82% support from Syngenta shareholders for its $43 billion takeover of the Swiss pesticides and seeds group - Reuters report

Antonie Delport, Managing Director of Syngenta South Africa, informed stakeholders in a letter that Syngenta will remain Syngenta; the operational independence will be preserved; and the company will continue to be headquartered in Switzerland - Read more»

SA wine grape harvest excels despite drought

he South African wine grape harvest is slightly larger than last year following a dry season and consumers can look forward to exceptional wines from the 2017 vintage.   The wine industry body VinPro says the 2017 harvest, that is at 1 425 283 tonnes 1.4% larger than in 2016, was initially expected to be smaller. "A decrease was expected due to the second consecutive very dry, hot season. However, cooler nights throughout the growing season and the absence of significant heatwaves during harvest time buffered the effect of the drought to some extent," says Francois Viljoen, manager of VinPro's viticulture consultation service  - Media release»

The ongoing and severe shortage of well trained personnel entering the agri-sector and agri-related industries, including farm managers, section managers and sales personnel, poses a significant risk to food security on the continent.   AGRICOLLEGES International is a new, modern, cloud-based e-learning institution.  Speaking at the press launch in Johannesburg, Howard Blight, Chairperson and Founder of AGRICOLLEGES International said their diploma level courses will meet the needs of the industry to gain young, skilled agricultural talent at a price-point that is affordable.   Read more»

The Fertilizer Association of Southern Africa (Fertasa) held its 57th annual congress in Durban on 4 May 2017.  The focus was on sustainability of the fertiliser industry in South Africa, as well as sustainability of water, soil, climate and agriculture.   Presenting the chairman's report, Fertasa chairperson and Omnia Fertilizer MD, Adriaan de Lange stated that international fertilizer prices remain under pressure due to the continued increase in new capacity coming on line, which outpaces demand currently. Fertilizer prices are generally determined by the production cost of the marginal cost producer, which has also reduced in recent years due to the reduction in prices of energy.  Read more»

Presenters at the congress were:

Paul Makepeace (Senior Fertilizer Specialist, AFAP)
Dr Sylvester Mpandeli (Chairman, African Regional Working Group)
Prof Isaiah Wakindiki (Professional Natural Scientist)
Prof Roland Schulze (Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa & member of the Academy of Science of South Africa)
Dr Herman van Schalkwyk (Managing Director of Suidwes)

Presentations are available online: www.fertasa.co.za/fertasa-events/congress/

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