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The news section of the 12 February issue of Farmer’s Weekly takes a look at the integrity of silo certificates which has been issued by some of the agribusinesses in the grain operations value chain. 

Erasmus says that some experts, such as Wessel Lemmer from the Agricultural Business Chamber of South African (Agbiz), says investigations show that there were one or two mistakes picked up in some of the certificates and that there is not a widespread problem of faulty or inaccurate certificates being issued to farmers as reports have it.

Another story in the news section looks at the Competition Commission now investigating whether price gouging pertaining to ginger and garlic has taken place.  Erasmus says there are several reasons why prices have increased, which includes the high demand as consumers believe that these products can possibly have a positive impact on their health.

Also, South Africa only produces a very small amount of ginger and garlic, and most of these products sold in supermarkets were imported.

Furthermore, Erasmus adds that preliminary investigations have found that some supermarkets might have heavily increased specifically ginger prices.

The recent heavy rains in the Northern Cape is another article readers can look forward to reading as it takes a look at the effect that these rains had on table grape harvests in the Orange River region.

Erasmus says they also look at new rules regarding biosecurity and what the impact is on livestock agents.

Lastly but not least, this edition also looks at how this year’s citrus harvest has started.

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