While many South Africans are familiar with stories of how little you could buy for just R1 in the 1980s and 1990s, it wasn’t too long ago that South Africans were paying just R270 to fill their petrol tank (45 litres).

I spent the last Saturday of the month in Rayton – a small town located in north-eastern Gauteng. I attended a farmers’ day where I was asked to present on the upcoming 2018-2019 summer crop production season in the context of rising farm input costs, changing climate and land reform.

Further substantial fuel price hikes are lined up for the end of October, based on the unaudited mid-month fuel price data released by the Central Energy Fund.  

As South Africans navigate a festive season offering the relief of a lower fuel price — while taking a toll in disruption due to load-shedding — it all points to the shameful slow progress the country has made in developing a biofuels industry.

Whether you’re gobbling up leftover Halloween candy or planning holiday meals, you’re likely to encounter a whole lot of sugar in the next few months.

A ceaselessly growing human population and an ever-expanding world economy based on the unsustainable demands of a few over-consuming nations, have already caused habitat degradation, forest fragmentation, and forest loss that are unprecedented in human history.

The amount of material consumed by humanity has passed 100bn tonnes every year, a report has revealed, but the proportion being recycled is falling.

Farming is considered as the most important activity done by humans.

Farming is one of the world’s most critical industries, but it’s far from sustainable. U.S. agriculture emitted 698 million metric tons of greenhouse gasses in 2018, accounting for 10.5% of all carbon emissions in the nation.

"The determination of fuel prices in South Africa came under heavy fire because the international crude oil price soared after Russia declared war on Ukraine," said Fanie Brink, an independent agricultural economist.

Fossil-fuel subsidies surged to a record $7 trillion last year as governments supported consumers and businesses during the global spike in energy prices caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the economic recovery from the pandemic.