The latest RepTrak Pulse Survey for South Africa shows which local brands are most trusted and reputable among South African consumers.

According to the World Bank, the food and agriculture sector accounts for 10% of the global gross domestic product, which makes the sector worth almost $5 trillion. If we look at the food as output of farms, it is either sold immediately as raw food, agricultural commodity, or it is being processed and then sold as an intermediate or final product.

Evidence is now in and the verdict is that Africa’s agriculture is powering economic transformation in the region. African agriculture has shown remarkable improvement compared to its precarious state 15 years ago.

With the world's population expected to exceed nine billion by 2050, scientists are working to develop new ways to meet rising global demand for food, energy and water without increasing the strain on natural resources. Organisations including the World Bank and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation are calling for more innovation to address the links between these sectors, often referred to as the food-energy-water (FEW) nexus.

South Africa is divided into a number of farming regions according to climate, natural vegetation, soil type and farming practices.

AFGRI has launched a not-for-profit company, the AFGRI Support Fund to assist those in the South Africa agricultural sector with their financial needs. The Support Fund will operate in geographic areas of the country where AFGRI operates but won't be limited to AFGRI clients. 

A farming robot revolution is imminent, with fruit-picking machines nearly ready to roll into the fields and start replacing human workers. 

My first blogpost this year was titled — Can South Africa’s sorghum industry be revived? In it, I highlighted the decline in the production of this crop, with area plantings having reached 28 800 hectares in the 2017/18 production season – the smallest area on record in a dataset starting from 1936/37.

Millions of small-scale farmers face significant challenges, including food and water insecurity, dependence on unpredictable rain, and increasing frequency of natural disasters.

It could be argued that South Africa has only two primary economic industries – agriculture and mining.These are the two sectors that have shed the most jobs in the last 20 years as the economy has evolved towards the secondary and tertiary sectors.

AgriSA president Dan Kriek – cattle farmer, and member of President Cyril Ramaphosa's special advisory panel on land reform – is emerging as an increasingly controversial figure in the regathering storm over blood-and-soil politics. 

Humankind’s gift of gab is not set in stone, and farming could help to explain why.

Agricultural technologies could help to obviate the effects of climate change and ensure the planet’s population growth doesn’t lead to a global hunger epidemic. 

Many of the farmers Aaron Bobeck works with see a return-on-investment from using precision technology. But the 31-year-old says he also encounters many who are frustrated and on the verge of turning their backs on it.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has come to occupy an important role in Beijing’s ‘Made in China 2025’ blueprint. China wants to become a global leader in the field by 2030 and now has an edge in terms of academic papers, patents and both cross-border and global AI funding. 

Farmers in South Africa face constant uncertainty regarding weather, politics and market fluctuations - all factors out of their control.

According to records by the South African Agricultural Machinery Association (SAAMA) that stated that for the period 1 January to 28 February 2019, tractor sales of 914 units and combine harvester sales of 19 units were respectively 20,5% and 34,5% lower than the 1 150 tractors and 29 combine harvesters sold over the same period in 2018. The news figures will be available soon. 

Any private sector investments in Africa’s food sector must take account of Africa’s smallholder farmers if the investments are to survive, particularly with climate change.

Every year U.S. farmers use about a billion pounds of chemicals on crops, including the fruits, nuts and vegetables many parents beg their kids to eat. The Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration are charged with ensuring that these chemicals don’t endanger consumers, and both agencies test the food supply for pesticide residues each year.

Summer rainfall now nearing its end with only light falls expected in the last week of March and first week of April 2019. Heavier falls are however still possible over the eastern Summer Rainfall Area. Very little or no rain for Western Cape for the short to medium term.