Centre of Excellence: Land Affairs Nel Coetzee Centre of Excellence: Land Affairs Nel Coetzee

Towards Sustainable Human Settlements

‘A sustainable human settlement is a community of people in which economic growth and social development are in balance with each another; resources are used responsibly so that they will continue to deliver value to future generations; and everyone has an opportunity to participate in the economy, to be treated fairly and to prosper’.

Housing has been a contentious subject in South Africa for a long time. Most of the country’s urban areas face multiple housing challenges, many due to the absence of affordable housing in areas of opportunity for the urban poor. It also has not helped that poor communities have struggled to access well-located land through formal channels and as a result, informal settlements and the housing backlog continue to increase at a pace that the government struggles to manage.

Read More
Media releases Thea Liebenberg Media releases Thea Liebenberg

SONA 2024: AgriSA echoes sentiments shared on public-private partnerships

AgriSA, representing South Africa's agricultural sector, acknowledges President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address, which underscored the pivotal role agriculture plays in the nation's economy. As the backbone of South Africa's economic landscape, agriculture serves as a catalyst for growth, job creation, and food security.

Read More
Media releases Thea Liebenberg Media releases Thea Liebenberg

Minimum wage increase: blessing or burden?

Minister of Employment and Labour Thulas Nxesi announced the new minimum wage in the Government Gazette on Friday. The national minimum wage, including for farmworkers, has been hiked to R27,58 per hour from 1 March 2024. That is an increase of 8,5% compared to the minimum wage of R25,42 per hour until the end of February. The increase is 2,5 percentage points higher than the average inflation rate for 2023, which was 6%.

Read More
Agriculture news Nel Coetzee Agriculture news Nel Coetzee

National Agro-meteorological Committee (NAC) Advisory on the2023/24 summer season

The veld and livestock are in reasonable to poor condition in most areas. Land preparations are underway for summer crops. Above normal rainfall is anticipated during early summer in most summer rainfall areas. However, towards mid-summer rainfall is expected to be below normal in the central and western parts of the country. Above normal rainfall is anticipated for the north eastern parts of the country during mid-summer. Temperatures are expected to be above normal countrywide. However, the seasonal forecast emphasizes caution as the El Niño effect might still influence the weather patterns thereby change the seasonal outlook for the mid and late summer. Farmers are encouraged to continually monitor these conditions through the extended weather forecast for short-term to medium-term planning.

Read More
Agri SA Nel Coetzee Agri SA Nel Coetzee

Christo van der Rheede retires after eight years at Agri SA

As Agri SA prepares for the retirement of chief executive officer, Christo van der Rheede, incoming chief executive officer Johann Kotze has come on board full-time to continue to ensure a smooth leadership transition. Christo will remain at the helm of affairs until Agri SA’s upcoming congress on 12 and 13 October 2023, whereafter he will officially hand over to the new chief executive officer.

Read More
Media releases Thea Liebenberg Media releases Thea Liebenberg

Agri SA Disaster Relief foundation calls for assistance in the wake of devastating fires

Agri SA is deeply concerned about the devastating impact of ongoing fire outbreaks in the Free State, North West and Northern Cape provinces. The fires have affected an area of over 400 000 hectares, resulting in the loss of grazing and various livestock, such as sheep, cattle and wildlife that either burnt to death or had to be euthanised.

Read More
Agriculture news Nel Coetzee Agriculture news Nel Coetzee

2023 winter and spring seasons Statemens

In June, the south and south-western areas of the country received above-normal rainfall while most of the central and northern regions received below-normal rainfall (Figure 1). July received a mixture of normal to below-normal rainfall in most parts of the country (Figure 2). However, some eastern parts of the country as well as southern Free State and parts of the Eastern Cape received above normal rainfall. Mid-August was dry as below-normal rainfall was recorded countrywide (Figure 3). For the season July 2022 – June 2023, near normal rainfall was received over much of the country with above normal rainfall only over the southern parts of Free State, eastern parts of Eastern Cape as well as parts of Western Cape, KwaZulu Natal, Mpumalanga and Limpopo Provinces (Figure 4). ZF Mgcawu District Municipality of the Northern Cape received below-normal rainfall.

Read More
Agriculture news Nel Coetzee Agriculture news Nel Coetzee

Seasonal Climate Watch - September 2023 to January 2024

The El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is currently in an El Niño state and according to the latest predictions is expected to persist through most of the summer months. ENSO’s typical impact on Southern Africa is in favour for generally drier and warmer conditions during the summer seasons from October to March. Current global forecasts indicate a great deal of uncertainty for the typical drier conditions that South Africa experiences during an El Niño.

Read More
Media releases Thea Liebenberg Media releases Thea Liebenberg

Rapid increase of the national minimum wage is throttling agricultural sector growth

Agri SA will be making a submission to Parliament which demonstrates the negative impact of the national minimum wage on the growth and sustainability of the agricultural sector. Unless the increases of the minimum wage in the agricultural sector are aligned with inflation, there is a real risk of the agricultural sector contracting with devastating effects for employment in the sector.

Read More
Media releases Thea Liebenberg Media releases Thea Liebenberg

Rural safety benefits from Agri Securitas Trust Fund

The board of the Agri Securitas trust fund is pleased to announce the disbursement of R1,9 million to 29 farmer associations and provincial affiliations to help fund rural safety projects around the country.

“The Trust Fund joins forces with farming communities through local farmer associations to make them safer. The safety of rural communities is one of the central pillars in creating prosperous rural economies. Safer communities are the only way to maintain sustainable food systems, to advance food security and build a prosperous South Africa” said Cobus van Zyl, Chair, Agri Securitas trust fund.

Read More
Agriculture news Nel Coetzee Agriculture news Nel Coetzee

Seasonal Climate Watch -August to December 2023

The multi-model rainfall forecast indicates above-normal rainfall for most of the country during early spring (Aug-Sep-Oct) with below-normal rainfall predicted over the western parts during mid-spring (Sep-Oct-Nov) and late-spring (Oct-Nov-Dec).

Minimum and maximum temperatures are expected to be mostly above-normal countrywide for the forecast period.

Read More
Media releases Thea Liebenberg Media releases Thea Liebenberg

Agri SA submits objections on racialised water use licence regulations

Agri SA has submitted its comments on the proposed Water Use Licence Applications, Amendment and Appeals Regulations that were published on 19 May 2023. The draft regulations proposed that certain enterprises applying for water use licences to take or store water would in the future have to allocate shares of up to 75% to black South Africans in order for such water use licences to be granted. Given the legal and food security implications of the regulations, it is essential that they are reviewed and substantially amended.

Read More
Media releases Thea Liebenberg Media releases Thea Liebenberg

Agri SA provides financial assistance in precedent-setting land claim case

The board of Directors at Agri SA has taken the decision to provide financial support to the appellant in the Moladora Trust v Mereki and Others Case (“Moladora case”). The case is expected to set an important precedent with far-reaching implications for private property rights in South Africa and the scope of the Extension of Security of Tenure Act 62 of 1997 (“ESTA”).

Read More
Agriculture news Nel Coetzee Agriculture news Nel Coetzee

Seasonal Climate Watch - May 2023

The El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is currently in a Neutral state, and forecasts indicate that it will likely move into a weak El Niño state during late winter and early spring and eventually strengthen into a strong El Niño state for the remainder of the summer season. Caution is advised though, ENSO predictions during this time are less skilful than at other times of the year. It is advised that the ENSO forecasts be monitored from now until we reach August/September when ENSO forecasts have significantly higher skill levels. ENSO’s impact is limited for the current forecast period until the summer season starts which will likely be impacted by a strong El Niño state if early predictions are correct. The multi-model rainfall forecast indicates above-normal rainfall for most of the country during winter (Jun-Jul-Aug) through to early spring (Aug-Sep-Oct). This is still only relevant for the southwestern parts of the country during winter but also relevant for the eastern coastal areas during spring. Minimum and maximum temperatures are expected to be mostly above-normal countrywide for the forecast period.

Read More