There is so much happening in the agricultural sector this week – from the continuation of the World Food Forum, which started on 1 October, to a ministerial visit scheduled for the province of Gauteng. We also have our regular livestock auctions happening and multiple agri conferences. To add your agri events to our calendar, email us on info@foodformzansi.co.za.
Happy Monday, Mzansi! This week, the topic on everyone’s lips continues to be food security. We are still mostly online, but this seems to have more to do with location than the pandemic.
As always, we start off the week with Food for Mzansi’s own #FarmSpaces event on Twitter. Monday will also see the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa host a webinar on how the continent’s potential can be brought forth through technology. On Thursday, horse lovers in the Western Cape can take their families for the first Cape Indoor Show in many a year, and farmers who want to learn more about regenerative agriculture can contact RegenAgri SA to take part in Saturday’s workshop.
Check out the calendar on Food for Mzansi’s home page as well as this weekly article, published every Monday, for 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, 4 October
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.
Discussing food system transformation
Hosted by the government of Sweden, among others, this webinar is part of World Food Forum 2021 and seeks to explore how transforming food systems can be an opportunity to improve the lot of youth across the globe. The webinar will also unpack the challenges the youth face in food systems, and what is required to make the future of food systems more sustainable.
For more information, click here.
Tuesday, 5 October
Exploring the potential of African agriculture
The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa is hosting a webinar on unlocking the economic potential of African agriculture. The webinar aims to explore the challenges faced by African farmers and how those challenges can be negated through the use of modern technology. Information sharing, analytics, tracking and traceability, access to markets and finance are some of the topics under discussion.
Click here for more information.
Discussing the relationship between water and food systems
The Daugherty Global Institute is hosting a virtual conference spanning over two days, which will unravel the relationship between water and our food systems. The purpose of the conference is to discuss challenges around water and food systems and ultimately to contribute to future water and food security.
Join the conference here.
The minister of water and sanitation to visit Gauteng
The minister of water and sanitation, Senzo Mchunu, will be visiting Gauteng for the first time since taking office. The minister will be consulting with various stakeholders in the province’s water sector and topics under discussion will include matters of governance, implementation, service delivery and finance towards the provision of quality water and decent sanitation.
To learn more, click here.
2nd annual Science for a Sustainable Future conference
Springer Nature and the United Nation’s (UN) Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) is hosting a conference where leading scientists from across the globe discuss how science will contribute to the achievement of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The conference will be split into three sessions which deal with climate finance, food systems and universal health.
Click here to register.
Wednesday, 6 October
Unpacking regenerative food systems
Fresh Ventures and the host of the Investing in Regenerative Agriculture podcast, Koen van Seijen, are hosting a webinar to discuss how regenerative agriculture can be moved forward. The specific focus of the webinar is to determine what kinds of organisations need to be built in order for the movement to become more effective. The webinar is aimed at agripreneurs, farmers, investment vehicles, agritech companies and other agricultural stakeholders.
Click here to register.
Thursday, 7 October
Exploring opportunities to end hunger
As part of the Feed the Future initiative, various United States government agencies will be contributing to the Global Food Security Research Strategy. The strategy is aimed at ending hunger, poverty and malnutrition using science, technology and innovation. The webinar is open to input, feedback and ideas from the US and international research community and stakeholders.
Click here for more information.
The Cape Indoor Show is back
The only Saddlebred show in the Cape Winelands, and this year also the only official show in the Western Cape, starts this Thursday. Held over three days in Paarl in the Western Cape, the family-friendly show will feature 80 Saddlebred and 11 Hackney Pony classes.
Get your tickets here.
Friday, 8 October
Building resilient food systems in urban areas
Hosted by 1Sustainability, and partnered with Agritecture, this webinar is aimed at agribusinesses that use sustainability as their core business value. Focused on urban living, the webinar will explore sustainability, urban agriculture and technology.
Click here for more.
Soutpansberg is having a production sale
With over 100 animals on offer, Soutpansberg in Limpopo is having their 2021 Bonsmara production sale. Bidders can potentially buy 80 female animals in all production stages, and 25 Bosveld bulls. Bidders can also participate on SwiftVEE, the online auction platform for livestock auctions.
For more information, contact Louis van der Walt on 082 411 0796, Bouts Botha on 082 339 2471, Mark Baker on 076 502 4980, Luhan Bester on 079 864 7861 or Niel Swart (auctioneer) on 082 554 3070.
Click here to view the catalogue.
Saturday, 9 October
Workshops on Regenerative Agriculture
RegenAg SA is continuing its regenerative agriculture workshops with a two-day stint in Stellenbosch in the Western Cape. The second session in the workshop will be hosted by Richard Perkins at the Spier wine farm. To enquire, email info@permacultureinstituteforsouthernafrica.org.
