It is another busy week in the agricultural sector. This week’s global focus is the transformation of our food systems, with issues like sustainability and climate change being front and centre. A number of important conferences are taking place in the next seven days, including the World Food Forum and Agri-2021. To add your agri events to our calendar, email us on info@foodformzansi.co.za.
Happy Monday, Mzansi! October has almost arrived and, as usual, the agricultural sector is buzzing with events. Online is where it all happens, so don’t forget to charge your smartphone.
As always, we start the week with Food for Mzansi’s own #FarmSpaces event on Twitter. For our agricultural academics, we recommend registering for Agri-2021, a global conference on the agricultural and horticultural sectors. Young people in agriculture can join the World Food Forum to take part in discussions on how to end world hunger, and on Sunday, RegenAg SA is hosting another workshop to teach us how to farm regeneratively.
Keep an eye on the calendar on Food for Mzansi’s home page as well as this weekly article, published every Monday, to get the lowdown on informative, useful and even lucrative opportunities in the agriculture sector. Email info@foodformzansi.co.za to add your event to the calendar.
Monday, 27 September
Join us for this week’s Food For Mzansi #FarmSpaces, with Gugulethu Mahlangu
Are you an aspirant farmer looking for more information on how to get into the agricultural sector? Do you have a smartphone and a Twitter account? Join us then, every Monday at 18:00 for Food For Mzansi #FarmSpaces, held in partnership with one of agriculture’s favourite daughters, Gugulethu Mahlangu.
Follow us at @FoodforMzansi to participate!
National rabies webinar
The department of agriculture, land reform and rural development (DALRRD) is one of the hosts for this Monday’s rabies webinar. One of the recent outbreaks in the country has led to the death of a child, and citizens are urged to have their cats and dogs vaccinated to prevent more deaths.
The webinar will take place here, on Facebook.
Tuesday, 28 September
Exploring global food system sustainability
Hosted by the Swedish International Agriculture Network Initiative (SIANI), the AGRI4D conference is titled “2021 Food Systems for New Realities”. The two-day conference is being held online, and aims to connect researchers, policy makers and practitioners for a fruitful exploration around the challenges of food systems, especially focusing on low-income contexts.
Topics under discussion include justice in food governance as well as improved food and nutrition security.
To register for the conference, click here.
Discussing gender-based violence in food security
The Feed the Future Advancing Women’s Empowerment (AWE) programme and the Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centres (CGIAR) gender platform are hosting a webinar to discuss the presence of gender-based violence (GBV) in agriculture. The webinar is focused on prevention and mitigation, with the panel providing tools and resources to help solve the issue.
On the panel is AWE’s Katie Cheney, who is developing a GBV toolkit specifically for agriculture practitioners, and Dr Renee Bullock, who will be sharing her findings on an initiative started in the Democratic Republic of Congo to address GBV in the region.
To register, click here.
Wednesday, 29 September
Holding climate action accountable to the rural poor
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is hosting a webinar on inclusivity in climate change action, specifically aimed at the rural poor. The webinar explores ways to measure climate actions more effectively, fostering inclusivity in global investments, and behavioural science insights on how to enhance the capacity of the rural poor to adapt to climate change.
For more information, click here.
Thursday, 30 September
Dampoort and Westbourn Bonsmaras production sale in Dewetsdorp
Dampoort and Westbourn Bonsmaras is holding a production auction in Dewetsdorp in the Free State. With over 200 animals on offer, bidders can attend the auction in person, as well as online using Meerkat Online Auction.
For more information, contact them on 071 600 0792, 083 457 8207 or 082 375 2524. You can also email them on fafa@dampoortbonsmara.co.za.
Click here for the catalogue.
Last day to apply for farmland lease
Thursday is the last day you can apply to lease land on the farm Witpoort in Gauteng. The department of agriculture, land reform and rural development (DALRRD) is offering smallholders and semi-commercial farmers the opportunity to lease land. However, applicants must have crop and livestock farming experience, as well as a brand mark certificate and mechanisation in good working condition.
For more information, click here.
Global Conference on Agriculture and Horticulture
Hosted online by the Magnus Group, the Global Conference on Agriculture and Horticulture, Also known as Agri-2021, seeks to bring together research scholars, scientists, policy makers, entrepreneurs and other agri-experts to develop and innovate the sectors. Academics and other stakeholders will have the opportunity to exhibit their research, products and knowledge. Under the spotlight are topics like agriculture engineering, precision agriculture and digital agriculture, to name a few.
Click here to register.
Friday, 1 October
Exploring the water-food-energy nexus
The water-food-energy nexus is an analytical approach used by stakeholders in food, energy, water and related sectors to interrogate the management of these three resources. Natural resources come under more and more pressure each year as the world’s population grows.
Agri SA is one of the hosts for this Friday’s webinar on how to manage these inextricably linked resources, with panellists speaking on water, energy and food at a household and farm level, sustainable development goals and achieving food security.
Click here to register.
How sustainable is vertical farming?
Hosted by Agritecture, this webinar aims to explore the sustainability of vertical farming. Vertical farming is unpacked in relation to urbanisation, climate change and population growth, which are all factors that put pressure on the world’s natural resources. Topics under discussion in this webinar are available technology, plant condition, food safety and sustainability, among others.
To register, click here.
The World Food Forum
Hosted by Global Youth, the World Food Forum kicks off this Friday. The forum is youth-led, and looks at ways the global food systems can be improved and expanded to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The event is specifically focused on the “zero hunger goal”, and looks at issues like pests, plagues, conflict and climate change.
To join the forum, click here.
Sunday, 3 October
Attend a regenerative agriculture workshop
RegenAg SA is hosting a three-day regenerative agriculture workshop which will be presented by Richard Perkins. The event starts in Santa Paloma in East London and will take participants through the basics of regenerative operations. Potential participants in the Western Cape and Gauteng can join the later sessions.
For more information, email info@permacultureinstituteforsouthernafrica.org.
