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In the news section of the 19 March edition of Farmer’s Weekly, readers can expect various articles on weather and rainfall forecasts for the country. Erasmus explains that the year has so far been positive in terms of rainfall for the summer rainfall regions in South Africa.

She further adds that overall, the country’s dam levels reached about 70% capacity in the first week of March. However, Erasmus says “there are some red lights flickering for the Western Cape. This was according to Johan van den Berg, who said that water levels in the Western Cape were dropping rapidly with the most concerning decline recorded at the Clan William Dam.”

Furthermore, Erasmus states that the reason for concern going forward is that according to Van den Berg the current La Nina conditions that we are experiencing do not favour rainfall in the Western Cape.

Also, this edition takes a look at the recent forum that was held regarding soil and root health. Erasmus explains that experts shared that up to 90% of the earth’s soil could be degraded by 2050. She adds that Erik Fyrwald, Group CEO of Syngenta, stated during the forum that soil was not only the foundation of healthy plants and healthy people and a healthy planet, but of life itself. He also added that farmers, as well as the whole of society, will have no life without soil. Erasmus says Fyrwald highlighted “the desperate need to focus more on farming practices that will promote and restore soil health.”

In addition to this, readers can look forward to an article about a niche new crop – the kiwi berry. Erasmus says this fruit is related to the kiwi fruit but is much smaller. She further adds that producers in South Africa say that there is an opportunity for South African farmers to enter the kiwi berry fruit market. “Wouter le Roux, owner of the export company "It’s so Fresh", says he was only aware of one grower at the moment in South Africa, and this was the first season for exports,” says Erasmus.

With that being said, this fruit will be exported to markets in Europe as consumers there are already familiar with the product.

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