Patrick Prestele, Consultant at Frost & Sullivan Africa, revealed in a recent report, that 54% of South Africa’s unpaved road network was in very poor condition, and about one-third of the paved network was also in a poor condition. Denene Erasmus, editor of Farmer’s Weekly, adds that some of the provinces that are most affected are the Eastern Cape, Free State, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West. She adds that according to the report, both paved and unpaved roads were in danger of degrading even further due to a severe backlog in infrastructure maintenance. Erasmus adds that this is not only a problem for the fruit industry but also for human safety.

The North West Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development virtually launched their unemployment graduates programme on Monday. The department says that the programme will see an intake of 120 graduates who are to be placed at 35 farms across the province where they will gain experience in the sector and apply their knowledge to assist with the resuscitation of fallow farms. Furthermore, the department's hope is that the graduates will populate the sector with innovation and skills to enhance and prolong agriculture in the province. The program is set to commence this year and will carry on until the year 2022.

AND

South Africa’s national food systems dialogue expanded their talks to the Northern Cape province on Monday where various discussions took place, highlighting the importance of food security and employment amid a world pandemic. Zandisile Luphahla, spokesperson of the Northern Cape Department of Agriculture, tells OFM News that the dialogue focused on identifying and planning strategies that can be implemented by the province to ensure prolonged sustainability within the sector.




OFM News