Happy Monday, Mzansi! This week sees the start of a new month, and as usual the agri space is full of exciting opportunities!
Block out your calendars with this week’s agriculture events taking place across the country, as well as some online events.
We are celebrating the 20th annual World Milk Day this week. To mark the occasion, Global Dairy Platform is hosting a number of online events, including a social media campaign where dairy farmers can share their dairy related videos and pictures.
Have a look at the calendar on Food for Mzansi’s homepage as well as this weekly article, published every Monday, giving you the low-down on informative, useful and even lucrative opportunities in the agriculture sector. Email info@foodformzansi.co.za to add your event to the calendar.
Monday, 31 May
Discussing the latest food technology
The Sweden Food Tech Big Meet is an annual food tech conference where food technology companies, entrepreneurs, scientists, and athletes are invited from all over the world to discuss the latest in food technology. Held over four days, this year’s virtual event will delve into cultured and plant-based products, chicken-free nuggets, the future of food tech and new hospitality business models.
For more, click here.
Tuesday, 01 June
Using Innovation in agri to achieve sustainability
Members of the developing world pay much more for nutritious food than those in industrialised nations. This is why agricultural innovation is important.
The International Potato Center is sponsoring an online panel discussing the role of innovation in agriculture and how to use it to meet their 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. The event will also focus on international collaboration and is considered a key contributing event for the 2021 Food Systems Summit.
For more information, click here.
ALSO READ: Potatoes boss high-fives farmers: ‘We rose from the ashes’
Understanding and working within the EU Green Deal
The second session in PMA’s Understanding and Working Within the EU Green Deal webinar series takes place today. The session will focus on how retail businesses will be affected by the EU Green Deal. The Green Deal aims to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050.
For more information on the webinar series, click here.
Celebrate World Milk Day
To celebrate World Milk Day, the Global Dairy Platform is taking to social media to reintroduce dairy farming to the world. The 2021 theme is “Sustainability in the dairy sector”. If you are a dairy farmer who uses technology in a way that promotes sustainability, you can send your dairy videos showing this to milkday@emergingag.com. Everyone can take part in the discussion by following the Global Dairy Platform social media channels and using the hashtags #WorldMilkDay & #EnjoyDairy.
For more information on this and other World Milk Day events, click here.
ALSO READ: Variety of milk options leave SA spoilt for choice
Livestock Auction in Goedgedacht, Mpumalanga
With around 90 animals on offer, Ehlerskroon Boerdery is holding an auction in Goedgedacht, Mpumalanga. The auction lot opens at 08:00, with the auction starting at 11:00.
To take part in the auction, contact Johan Ehlers on 082 892 2921, Moolman Mentz on 083 229 2500, Wim De Beer on 063 514 1035, or Frik Verster on 082 652 2132. You can also email info@bkbvanwyk.co.za.
Flex your Twitter fingers for Food Safety
It is World Food Safety Day and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (@IFAD) and United Nations Statistics Division (@UNstatistics) are calling on Twitter users to take part in the food safety conversation. Use the hashtags #WorldFoodSafetyDay and #WFSDchat21 to ask questions and share your views on the topic of food safety.
The chat starts at 15:00 and aims to unpack why food safety is important.
Want to know more? Click here.
Wednesday, 02 June
Unpacking potential solutions to climate justice
Researchers from the University of Cape Town (UCT) and Coventry University in the United Kingdom have collaborated to form the Farming for Climate Justice Project. The project, aimed at researchers, activists and practitioners, is centred on food and farming system transformation.
To aid the discussion, a three-part webinar series was launched on Wednesday, 19th May. The third and final webinar is a discussion around resourcing in agroecology and “slow violence”. On the panel are Vanessa Farr, from UCT, and Nina Moeller, from Coventry University.
To take part in the discussion, you need to register at least one hour before the event starts. Click here for more info.
Thursday, 03 June
Can agriculture save the South African Economy?
Nedbank’s latest agriculture webinar will focus on the sector’s technical market, key sub-sectors, and policy. The panel will also unpack challenges in the sector and sustainable growth in future. On the panel is Wandile Sihlobo, Chief Economist at the Agricultural Business Chamber (Agbiz), and Dr Tracy Davids, Commodity Markets and Foresight Manager at the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy.
For more information, click here.
ALSO READ: Premiers vow to use agriculture to revive economy
Friday, 04 June
Harnessing nutrition co-benefits of climate-resilient agriculture
As extreme weather and climate events become more common, they negatively affect how people earn a living and how they eat. Current food systems are not adequately addressing food inequality, which is why major changes are needed in those systems.
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is hosting an online panel to discuss the connections between climate and nutrition, potential solutions and potential approaches for governments to adopt.
To register, click here.
