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In the news section of this week’s edition of Farmer’s Weekly, the increase in the interest rate, which was recently announced by the South African Reserve Bank, comes into the spotlight. According to Ryan, the benchmark lending rate was increased by 50 basis points to 4.75%. Agricultural economists have warned that this increase will have a negative impact on the majority of farmers and agribusinesses.

Grain SA’s Corné Louw says that farmers who rely on production loans or are still paying farm mortgages would be particularly negatively affected by the interest rate hike.

Another news story takes a look at growing concerns among poultry producers about cheap chicken pieces being imported into South Africa. Isaac Breytenbach, head of the South African Poultry Association’s (SAPA) broiler organisation, says figures show that Australian chicken thighs were landing at South African ports at about R6,89/kg. Ryan adds that this is the lowest price for any portion of meat from any country in the world.

Currently, exporters from all countries outside the EU were paying a 62% import tariff on poultry products. This meant that the importation tax on poultry imported at R6,89/kg would be R4,27/kg. Therefore, the meat was being imported at R11,16/kg while it currently costs at least R26,50 to produce a whole chicken carcass in South Africa.

Ryan says local farmers cannot compete with these imports.

Furthermore, another news story in this week’s edition takes a look at a small craft brewery based in the Cape Winelands that took the top honours in Africa’s biggest beer competition – the 2022 African Beer Cup.

Soul Barrel Brewing was named the best beer in Africa with its Live Culture Grand Cru ale, which beat 250 entries from 14 countries in Africa.

This was the first time that international judges had been invited to adjudicate the entries. Judges from 16 countries evaluated the 251 entries over three days. They awarded ten gold, 29 silver and 27 bronze medals across 32 categories.

Lastly, Farmer’s Weekly takes a look at agritourism and the potential it holds for the South African farming sector. Ryan says agritourism can help farmers use their farm resources to their fullest potential, generate additional income and preserve land.

She adds that a 2019 survey found that just 24% of South African farmers hosted some form of agritourism on their farms. With that being said, the opportunities for agritourism in South Africa is virtually endless, given the diverse landscape in which the primary production sector operate.

Agritourism is defined as any tourist activity on a farm that is linked to the farms activities and attractions. This can include a restaurant, guesthouse and a farm shop.

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