WORLD FOOD DAY - 16 October 2017
Rest of Africa must follow SA's lead to feed her children
October the 16th is an important day as it is
World Food Day. Unlike 2016 when this day was commemorated in the midst of a drought and higher food prices in some parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, this year presents positive developments.
The most recent data from the
International Grains Council shows that Sub-Saharan Africa's 2016/17 maize production increased by 15% year-on-year to 65 million tonnes, which is a record level in a dataset dating from the 2000/01 production season. Other crops such as soybeans, sunflower seed and vegetables also recorded a notable uptick, leading to a deceleration in food inflation in countries such as South Africa, Zambia and Botswana amongst others.
* Click
here to read
Agbiz economist, Wandile Sihlobo's, column which appeared in Business Day on 12 October 2017.
Monsanto media release
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CEO of Agbiz addresses Namibia LPO Congress
The CEO of Agbiz, Dr John Purchase, delivered the keynote address at the Namibia Livestock Producers Organisation (LPO) Congress in Windhoek this week. The theme of the address was Food security: Role of the livestock industry in Namibia. Primary agriculture contributes just over 7% to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) annually, of which more than half of this contribution is derived from their globally competitive livestock industry. Namibia is a nett exporter of red meat to Europe primarily, as well as of live cattle and sheep to South Africa, but remains a nett importer of agricultural products to meet local demand for food. Food security challenges are centred around household food insecurity with many households having insufficient disposable income to purchase sufficient food for a balanced and nutritious diet. The challenge for the Namibia livestock industry is to play an even greater role in inclusive growth of the industry, and this can only be achieved by enhancing their global competitiveness.
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Recent discussions taking place in Parliament
 A number of discussions recently took place in Parliamentary portfolio committees that can have an impact on the Agribusiness sector. Agbiz Head: Legal Intelligence, Theo Boshoff, provides a brief summary of the recent discussions on
Rural Development and Land Reform;
Water and Sanitation; and
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries -
Click to peruse»
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 Data from the past few months show that most farmers have already purchased new equipment for the 2017/18 production season which starts this month in the summer rainfall areas. Therefore, it is not surprising that tractor sales fell by 5% m/m in September 2017, recorded at 552 units. We believe that this declining trend in tractor sales could prevail in the near term as the production season progresses.
Agbiz economist,
Wandile Sihlobo, provides more information in the linked update»
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Click here to read the daily market view on commodities and the weekly wrap.
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| AGRIBUSINESS CENTENARY BURSARY |
The Agricultural Business Chamber (Agbiz) is making an annual bursary of R34 000 (THIRTY-FOUR THOUSAND RAND) available to a South African student registered for a Masters or PhD degree in either agricultural economics or agribusiness management related fields, at any recognised South African university. The c
losing date for applications is 8 December 2017. More information»
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Agricultural Policy Monitoring and Evaluation 2017
This Agricultural Policy Monitoring and Evaluation 2017 report monitors and evaluates agricultural policies across countries. It is the 30th in the series of OECD reports and the fifth report to include both OECD countries and a set of emerging economies. It includes countries from all six continents, including the 35 OECD countries and the six non-OECD EU member states, as well as eleven emerging economies including South Africa. Overall, the 52 countries covered by this report account for about two-thirds of global agricultural value added. The report provides interactive data and up-to-date estimates of support to agriculture and finds that more can be done to align support to agriculture with the underlying objectives of government intervention, and that market distortions, while falling on average, remain significant. The Country Profile for South Africa can be read under Country Snapshots.
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OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2017-2026
The latest annual OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook finds that global food commodity prices are projected to remain low over the next decade compared to previous peaks, as demand growth in a number of emerging economies is expected to slow down and biofuel policies have a diminished impact on markets. The full database can be consulted via three basic queries to compare trade, production, consumption and prices between countries and commodities. Predictions for the Republic of South Africa show an increase in maize, wheat, soybean and other oilseeds - Read more»
Other highlights in the OECD newsletter include:
- Water Risk Hotspots for Agriculture
- Agricultural Policy Monitoring and Evaluation 2017
- Updated Agri-Environmental Indicator.
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2018 Agbiz Congress: 7-8 June 2018
Boardwalk International Convention Centre in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape.
C
ongress theme: Uncertainty Creates Opportunity.
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AGRI 5 Commodities Workshop & Expo
20-21 October 2017 |
East London Show Grounds
13th SIAMAP International Show
31 October to 5 November 2017 | Tunisia
African Dairy Conference and Exhibition (13th AfDa)
15-17 November 2017 | Johannesburg
More information
African Agri Investment Indaba 2017
20-22 November 2017 | CTICC | Cape Town
30 Nov - 1 Dec 2017 | Lagoon Beach Hotel | Cape Town
Information:
[email protected]
International Conference on Global Food Security
VinPro Information Day
18 January 2018 | CTICC | Cape Town
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Being a member of Agbiz provides various benefits and opportunities
- Agbiz is the only organisation that serves the broader and common over-arching business interests of agribusinesses in South Africa.
- Agbiz addresses the legislative and policy environment on the many fronts that it impacts on the agribusiness environment.
- Agbiz facilitates considerable top-level networking opportunities so that South African agribusinesses can play an active and creative role within the local and international organised business environment.
- Agbiz research provides sector specific information for informed decision making.
- Agbiz newsletter publishes members' press releases and member product announcements.
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Third-party website links to this newsletter
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The Agbiz Newsletter may contain a few links to websites that belong to third parties unrelated to us. By making these links available, we are not endorsing third-party websites, their content, products, services or their events. Agbiz seeks to protect the integrity of its newsletter and links placed upon it, and therefore welcomes any feedback.
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