Agriculture - Page 93

Agriculture News

Technology raises SA's maize-crop estimate

22nd May 2002 South Africa’s 2001/02 maize crop estimate has risen, for the first time since the initial release of data in February, as sophisticated new methods of measuring take effect, the crop estimates body said. →

Erwin slams US farm protectionism

By: Terence Creamer 21st May 2002 Trade and Industry Minister Alec Erwin yesterday lashed out at the US over its decision to increase protection for American farmers by $180-billion over the next ten-years. →

Annan highlights key focus areas for Joburg summit

21st May 2002 In a speech delivered by UN secretary-general Kofi Annan, water, energy, health, agriculture and biodiversity were named as key areas for action at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) which kicks-off in Johannesburg in August . →

US subsidies ring alarm bells for African farmers

16th May 2002 African commentators blasted a new law to protect the US farm industry, saying the legislation made a mockery of Washington's calls for the continent to embrace free trade. →

Bush signs controversial Farm Bill

14th May 2002 US President George W Bush signed a 10-year, $190-billion farm bill Monday that expands subsidies to growers, turning aside criticism from fellow Republicans who called the measure a budget-busting step backward in agriculture planning. →

US farm subsidies will rob Africans of jobs

13th May 2002 The US Senate last week gave final approval to a controversial Farm Bill that will boost federal government support for agriculture by at least $82-billion over the next 10 years. →

Big new fishing quota, new patrol vessels

13th May 2002 South Africa has announced record high quotas for local companies to catch pilchards and anchovies, and at the same time ordered four new coastal patrol vessels to combat poaching. →

US farm Bill flouts consensus on helping third world

8th May 2002 Of all the problems that plague the world's poor in the age of globalisation, few are so widely condemned as the subsidies that rich countries provide their farmers. →

Grants help boost Magalies mushroom firm

By: Deborah Spicer 3rd May 2002 What is believed to be the only black-owned mushroom-producing company in Gauteng is making use of grants to become more efficient in producing the mushrooms that it supplies to local supermarkets and pizzerias. →

Tubing to deal with 'sweet' corrosion

3rd May 2002 Five years of extensive laboratory tests, negotiations and trials have resulted in the successful introduction of Salmac Stainless Tube’s SQ28 stainless-steel tubing, which is resistant to stress corrosion cracking, to the South African market. →

Swiss support for Eastern Cape eel-farming study

26th April 2002 THE Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) says it has teamed up with a Swiss-based investment company to investigate the potential of a sustainable eel fishing industry in the province. →

Solar water pump launched following Australian/SA JV

By: nkolola halwindi 26th April 2002 Through a joint venture with Australian-based pumps company Magnetic Gearing and Turbine (MGT), Boksburg castings company Rely Precision Castings, a division of Allied Productions Industries (API), has launched the MGT-50 solar water pump for use in the agricultural industry and in remote areas. →

SA vacuum-pump manufacturer's European, SADC exports on rise

By: nkolola halwindi 26th April 2002 Johannesburg-based manufacturer of Nash liquid-ring vacuum pumps and compressors Vac-Cent Services has extended its services to the vacuum industry to include a field service to existing customers and potential vacuum users. →

Western Cape in agri, tourism push

19th April 2002 A total of R108-million and R103-million have been allocated respectively to agriculture and tourism in the Western Cape says the province’s Minister of Agriculture, Tourism and Gambling Johan Gelderblom. →

Nacala investors' conference to table projects

19th April 2002 More than a hundred projects have been identified for potential investment under the Nacala Development Corridor, a spatial development initiative involving Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia, reports the corridor projects manager Wilfred Ali. →

SA's land distribution will be legal

12th April 2002 The South African Government remains committed to correcting the distortions in land ownership through a clear and legal framework, which does not disrupt business, said MEC for agriculture, conservation and environment Mashego Dlamini at the sugar season ceremony in Kwazulu-Natal yesterday. →

Crop forecasting goes hi-tech

5th April 2002 South Africa will use satellite imaging, state-of-the-art computer programmes and personal visits to farms to improve the accuracy of summer crop estimates, agriculture officials said. →

SA firm to invest in Malawi cotton

By: Marcel Chimwala 5th April 2002 MALAWI – South African company Clark Cotton, which operates in a number of Southern African countries, has signed an agreement with Malawi’s largest agricultural parastatal, the Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (ADMARC), to establish a joint cotton-production company... →

Varsities targeted in hemp roadshow

By: Martin Zhuwakinyu 5th April 2002 A Johannesburg-based hemp-products retailer has embarked on a series of nationwide road shows aimed at winning the hearts of students at tertiary institutions. →

Construction of abalone project next year

By: Joanne Delaurentis 5th April 2002 Construction of a 120 t abalone farm outside Saldanha Bay, in the Western Cape, is scheduled to get under way by the first quarter of next year. →

Bugs clean paper mill's effluent

5th April 2002 The R600 000 pilot project at Sappi’s Tugela mill, in Kwazulu-Natal, which uses bugs to clean up its effluent, and aims at reducing the mill’s water consumption, is already providing excellent results. →

Southern Africa facing big food crisis

4th April 2002 Southern African states, including troubled Zimbabwe, face widespread hunger as imports arrive too slowly in drought-hit areas, a regional food security unit said. →

EU-Senegal fishing talks collapse

3rd April 2002 Talks between the European Union (EU) and Senegal about fishing rights failed because they could not agree how much the West African country should be paid to let EU ships into its waters. →

Potch varsity has role in new nuclear tech

By: Deborah Spicer 22nd March 2002 The acquisition by the University of Potchefstroom’s design and manufacturing centre of only one of a handful of five-axis computer numeric controlled (CNC) machining centres in South Africa has made possible the university’s involvement in Eskom’s pebble-bed modular reactor... →

UN warns against opening of fishing waters

19th March 2002 The United Nations environmental programme (UNEP) warned poorer countries that the uncontrolled opening of their waters to subsidised fishing fleets from Europe and Asia could bring economic disaster. →

Moz sugar firm's output to soar in 2002

By: Martin Zhuwakinyu 8th March 2002 Production at Illovo Sugar’s 50%-owned Maragra operation, in Mozambique, is expected to soar to about 50 000 t this year, up from 15 000 t in 2001, a company spokesperson tells Engineering News. →

State makes way for abalone farm

8th March 2002 The hundred and eleven hectares of land, formerly known as the Tooth Rock weapons range, near Saldanha in the Western Cape, has been leased to Clear Seas Aquaculture for the development of an abalone farm. →

Citrus processor expands material-handling capacity

8th March 2002 Efficient operation of Letaba Citrus Processors' enterprise in Tzaneen has been simplified through its relationship with Criterion Equipment, a local materials-handling supplier, reports manager Trevor Dunlop. →

Countries unite to promote the wellbeing of world's fisheries

8th March 2002 South Africa will soon join 20 other countries to ensure that fisheries, a vital source of food, employment, trade and economic wellbeing to people throughout the world, are conducted in a responsible manner. →

Single interface for fresh-produce data

8th March 2002 Internet development company Mint Net, of Johannesburg North, has notched up a first for the fresh produce industry by creating a website that displays real-time national market average data. →

No sour grapes for this farm

8th March 2002 Situated in the fertile Swartland farming region of the Western Cape, south of Porterville, is Groot Winterhoek Koelkamers, a world-class cooling and storage facility built to handle the locally-grown fruits. →

SA agricultural sector grows in competitiveness

7th March 2002 The South African agricultural sector has consistently manifested positive trends in competitiveness, business confidence and investment. →

Branding cattle with microchips

By: Irma Venter 1st March 2002 South African farmers will soon be able to microchip their livestock, through efforts by the Land Bank. →

SA firm in cashew nut shelling innovation

By: Martin Zhuwakinyu 1st March 2002 A Mpumalanga company has developed and patented a cashew nut shelling machine which, it claims, will give Africa’s moribund cashew nut industry a new lease on life. →

Arms-to-soy firm exporting 30% of output

22nd February 2002 A subsidiary of State-owned defence group Denel, Specialised Protein Products (SPP), is currently producing 600 t of a ‘multibase’ soy protein powder and 300 t of soyfibre, its two largest products, every month. →

WTO head blasts agricultural subsidies

By: Keith Campbell 22nd February 2002 ENGINEERING News can report that the single action which would have the biggest effect on fighting poverty in developing countries would be the abolition of agricultural subsidies, especially by developed countries. →

SA to join global fisheries deal

11th February 2002 South Africa will soon join 20 other countries to ensure that fisheries, a vital source of food, employment, trade and economic wellbeing to people throughout the world, are conducted in a responsible manner. →