Happy Thursday, farmers and agripreneurs. There is so much to look forward to today in the world of agriculture. High up on our agri agenda is Food For Mzansi’s new TV show premiering tonight.
We also track the second day of the Agri SA virtual congress, an agri tech seminar hosted by the Gauteng department of agriculture and rural development, and a PLAAS webinar interrogating the release of state land.
1
Free seminar on tech in agri-food sector
This morning the Gauteng department of agriculture and rural development is inviting you to its first virtual agri tech seminar under the theme: “The role of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the agri-food sector in covid-19 pandemic times”.
The objective of the free virtual seminar is to transfer the latest innovative technology available in the agri food sector. The seminar hopes to assist stakeholders to identify and select appropriate technologies that can assist them to improve their services, productivity, and yields.
The virtual seminar starts from 10:00 to 12:30 via the online platform Microsoft Teams. To attend, simply click here: GDARD Virtual Agri Tech Seminar
For further information, contact Ria Mgidi at 072 715 6635 or Ria.Mgidi@gauteng.gov.za
2
Webinar interrogating the release of state land
The team at the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) invites you to their webinar on “The land shall be shared among those who work it? Interrogating the release of state land”.
This follows the announcement on 1 October 2020 by minister Thoko Didiza that the state would release about 700,000 hectares of state land for redistribution.
The webinar, chaired by PLAAS researcher Katlego Ramantsima, seeks to explore the significance of this gesture towards land reform in South Africa. Featured panelists professor Ruth Hall and Tshepo Fokane from PLAAS will discuss the following questions:
- What do we know about the state land that is being released? Is it of good value? Where is it located?
- How significant is this land area, compared to land redistributed so far, government targets and public expectations?
- Who gets the land, on what terms, and will it benefit those who have been under-represented in land reform–like women, youth, the landless, agri workers and dwellers, and poor farmers in the communal areas?
- Could this provision of state land help to create jobs, support small enterprises, build local markets for food and for agricultural goods and services, as the president claims?
- Is this how we should be approaching the issue of land redistribution and land reform in general?
Tune in on from 13:00 to 14:00 and watch the webinar by clicking the below to view it.
3
Tonight: Mzansi’s brand-new agri TV show debuts
Excitement is building ahead of the much-anticipated, brand-new agricultural TV show, Vir die liefde van die land (“For the love of the land”) airing tonight at 18:00 on VIA, DStv channel 147.
In the first episode we see award-winning TV host Ivor Price and Piet Potgieter, manager: developing agriculture at VKB, introduce the nation to 73-year-old Samson Mahlaba.
The Free State livestock and crop farmer shares with viewers how he went from labourer to farm owner – a dream, that took him more than 50 years to materialise.
Read: It took him 50 years to grow from labourer to farmer
The ten-episode Vir die liefde van die land series is proudly presented by Food For Mzansi in collaboration with the VKB Group and WYRD Films. Repeats of the show happen on Saturdays at 10:30, Sundays at 20:00 and Mondays at 08:00.
4
Exclusive invitation to Agri SA virtual congress
If you missed the first day of the much-talked-about Agri SA virtual congress yesterday, here is what you can look forward to on the second day.
Concurrent with the theme “Agriculture: Integral part of the economic value chain, adapting and building a new future”, Pierre Vercueil, president of Agri SA, is first up to make his presidential address.
This will be followed by thought-provoking question and answer sessions on how covid-19 changed consumer behavior and what that means for farmers locally and internationally.
There is also an exciting honorary awards ceremony that will take place and much more. To attend, click here before 09:00 today.
- Do you have an upcoming event that should be on Food For Mzansi’s watchlist? Drop us an email to diary@foodformzansi.co.za and we’ll do our best to include it in this weekday feature.
