The director of Agri SA, Christo van der Rheede, says that the costs of input materials such as fertiliser, herbicides, packaging, diesel, electricity, and labour, to name a few, will soon make it almost impossible for many farmers across South Africa to produce food sustainably. Therefore, Agri SA is appealing to all stakeholders, including the government, to intervene and assist in the potential reduction of input costs for the agricultural sector. He says intervention is crucial as the increasing cost of input materials threatens food security across the country. Van der Rheede emphasises that the combination of price increases for farmers and the disruptions in the supply of materials are putting farmers at risk, which endangers food security and severely impacts profitability and sustainability of farms.

Recent rainfall has been welcomed with open arms in the Free State Province. Free State Agriculture's Francois Wilken says farmers are extremely pleased with the rainfall these past two days. Wilken adds farmers from the southern side of the Free State are relieved by the rainfall in the province, as those farmers suffered immensely from the recent veld fires. Wilken adds that he is pleased that parts of the Northern Cape also received some rain in the past two days, as many of the areas in and around Calvinia experienced their last rainfall almost a decade ago. He goes on to say that there is not a lot of rain predicted for much of the weekend but that next week's weather predictions show increased chances of rain. Wilken says that farmers are very happy with the recent rain and that they are hopeful for more in the coming week.

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Meanwhile… Veld fire control initiatives are almost ready to be launched in the Northern Cape Province. The ongoing veld fires in the Northern Cape were calmed by showers of rain, mainly in the Namaqualand and Frances Baard areas, says the spokesperson of the Department of Agriculture in the Northern Cape, Zandisile Luphahla. He adds that to try and combat the violent veld fires, they, alongside fire departments and various stakeholders, have joined hands to form fire protection associations that will be implemented in the coming week. He says the MEC of the department, Mase Manopole, is excited to be working with the disaster management department and other stakeholders, as they try to combat devastating veld fires.

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