This comes as a significant number of caterpillars have reportedly invaded a number of farms, particularly in the Free State. According to project manager, Rina Nieuwenhuis, the delayed plantings of maize across much of the western and central maize belt in South Africa had been a major concern for growers this season. Nieuwenhuis says the organisation started receiving reports about the presence of caterpillars in crops in various summer grain areas, including Hennenman, Bothaville, Kroonstad and Viljoenskroon. She says the caterpillars in the photos sent to them by farmers, resembles the African armyworm rather than the fall armyworm. Nieuwenhuis says for any type of caterpillar damage experienced on farms, early detection and identification will be essential for control. She adds farmers should continue sending photos of any caterpillar infestations to Crop Watch Africa, to aid in compiling a detailed map to track the distribution and prevalence of the insects.

AND

Agricultural union TLU SA has handed a memorandum to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regarding utterances made by Black First Land First (BLF) leader Andile Mngxitama last year.  In an emailed statement, TLU SA president Louis Meintjies said the memorandum concerned "the vengeful and inflammatory words of Andile Mngxitama...uttered in December during a public rally in Potchefstroom". According to Meintjies, the memorandum was received at the NPA head office in Silverton, Pretoria. He said this kind of continuous hate speech is extremely inflammatory and often the sparks to lead to violent attacks and even murder on farms, On December 11, the union laid a charge of hate speech against Mngxitama. This followed comments made the previous day at a public rally where he threatened to kill five white people for every black person killed.

OFM News