4+ day, 7+ hour ago   (1692+ words) Long before Obakeng Ntshabele understood terms such as gross margins, soil health and mechanisation, he understood a simpler rule of farming: The cattle had to get home before dark. By Lebogang Mashala, editor at African Farming At just nine years…...

5+ day, 7+ hour ago   (720+ words) At just nine years old, while he was still in primary school, Obakeng Ntshabele was already helping his father, Butika Hosea Ntshabele, farm in Sefikile, a small mining village in North West’s Moses Kotane Local Municipality. This is the second…...

1+ week, 2+ day ago   (787+ words) South Africa’s commercial farming sector is still shaped by the legacy of slavery, colonialism and apartheid. Black South Africans make up more than 80% of the population. But most commercial farms are still owned by a relatively small number of white…...

1+ week, 2+ day ago   (873+ words) Agri SA president Willem de Chavonnes Vrugt and Agriculture Gauteng president Konrad Burger have called for greater unity in organised agriculture, arguing that farmers need collective strength and credible data to influence decisions as the sector grapples with foot-and-mouth disease…...

1+ week, 4+ day ago   (668+ words) With El Niño concerns surrounding the upcoming grain production season, dryland maize farmers in Limpopo gathered to learn how weather index insurance from Santam can help protect them against the financial risks of erratic rainfall and drought. The farmers, who…...

1+ week, 6+ day ago   (1574+ words) How determination, diversification and the guidance of mentor Success Mdluli helped Zanele Motau turn her childhood love of agriculture into a growing farming venture. By Maphuti Mongatane, business development manager at African Farming Just off the Boekenhout off-ramp in Hammanskraal…...

2+ week, 2+ day ago   (804+ words) A new incubation programme at Tarlton Agri-Park in Mogale City is taking aim at one of smallholder agriculture’s biggest challenges: Turning farmers into commercially viable businesses that can access markets, create jobs and attract finance. By Lebogang Mashala, editor at…...

3+ week, 3+ day ago   (838+ words) Masala Murovhi’s 20-hectare farming enterprise in Tsianda Village near Thohoyandou extends well beyond crops and poultry. In Part 3 of our series on the businessman-turned-farmer, African Farming looks at how he is building his goat, sheep and pig operations through careful…...

3+ week, 4+ day ago   (917+ words) In just five years, businessman-turned-farmer Masala Murovhi has transformed a single maize field cultivated by his mother in Limpopo’s Vhembe District into a thriving mixed-farming enterprise. This is the first article in African Farming’s series on Masala’s diversified farming enterprise....

3+ week, 6+ day ago   (514+ words) Sparks flew once again at the 12th Hurwitz Boran production auction, where top genetics commanded strong prices, including R2 million for the bull Madiba and R1.8 million for the cow Jasmine and her calf. True to the Hurwitz Boran brand, the sparks flew…...