The director of Veterinary Services at the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Kristan Mojapelo, says these measures were put in place to prevent the disease from spreading. He says ASF broke out in the Fezile Dabi district, following outbreaks in North West, Mpumalanga and Gauteng. According to him, ASF outbreaks have only been reported in Heilbron and Koppies in the Free State. Mojapelo says the department has established the source of the virus in the Free State. ASF is transmitted by contact with infected wild or domestic pigs, ingestion of contaminated material such as food waste and feed, and biological vectors. Mojapelo says African Swine Fever should not be confused with Swine flue. It does not affect humans and is not a public health threat - and pork products from animals with ASF are safe to eat.

The Zimbabwean government has banned the sale of maize by farmers to anyone other than its state-owned entity, the Grain Marketing Board. This will be at a prescribed price which is unknown at this stage. Wandile Sihlobo, chief agricultural economist at the South African Business Chamber, Agbiz, says the government decided to intervene after Zimbabwe had a poor harvest following unfavourable weather conditions. Zimbabwe has been left a net-importer that needs to import about a million tonnes of maize in order to fulfil its annual needs. Sihlobo says the Zimbabwean government's intervention shows its concern for consumers' well-being. Sihlobo is of the opinion that these actions could disadvantage farmers who had hoped that higher maize prices could compensate for yield losses.

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Agri SA has welcomed Deidre Carter as the new Chief Executive Officer of Agri Limpopo. Acting president of Agri Limpopo, Piet Engelbrecht, says Carter will fit well into the organisation and she will further strengthen current relationships. Carter was a founding member of the Congress of the People (COPE) and served as the deputy secretary general. She was elected as a parliamentary member in 2009.

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