The Greater Tygerberg Partnership (GTP) in collaboration with MES - Safe Space, GrowZA and Xylem yesterday officially opened Bellville’s urban food garden, known as the Life Changing Garden, with its first spring harvest now available to the community. For Bellville, the second metropolitan node of the City of Cape Town, the food garden is most definitely changing lives by … [Read more...]
When will Africa embrace ecological agriculture?
As COVID-19 threatens farming communities across Africa already struggling with climate change, the continent is at a crossroads. Will its people and their governments continue trying to replicate industrial farming models promoted by developed countries? Or will they move boldly into the uncertain future, embracing ecological agriculture? It is time to choose. Africa is … [Read more...]
Help save our bees from ecological collapse
Billions of bees, butterflies, and beetles... are dying off, threatening ecological collapse. Toxic agricultural pesticides are among the key culprits, but we now have a unique chance to phase them out in Europe. If we help win there, the rest of the world could follow. But to make it happen we have to drown out the voices of the industry lobby. Silently, the insect … [Read more...]
Working together to solve South Africa’s crises
My journey in activism started about four years ago, after my family was severely affected by the water crisis that hit the Western Cape. I saw first-hand how the drought was affecting small-scale farmers, including my mother, who rely on rain to grow crops and feed cattle. When you see your cows dying, you see money going down the drain. I conducted research on the internet … [Read more...]
Soil Manifesto calls for environmental restoration
The Soil Manifesto was first drafted on October 17th, 2019 by a group of young Soil Ambassadors during an international Soil Protection and Management training led by CCIVS, part of the Soil4Life project coordinated by Legambiente Onlus and organised within the framework of the IVS for Climate Justice Campaign. Now is the chance to add your signature and pledge support to … [Read more...]
Industrial farming no solution for Africa
Following the United Nations (UN) Food Systems Pre-Summit in Rome last week - a prequel to the Head of State-level Summit in New York, this September - faith communities from across Africa continue to call attention to the wide range of far-reaching consequences of current industrial agricultural models. An open letter to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation – sent by the … [Read more...]
Citrus farmer celebrates two years of solar energy
One of South Africa’s largest citrus farms are celebrating their second solar-versary. Their 265.98 kWp roof-mounted solar plant, that is made up of 806 x 330Wp Canadian Solar Photovoltaic panels, was commissioned in June 2019 and has been harnessing the sun’s energy and converting it to electricity to power the farm ever since. Joubert en Seuns is a well-established farming … [Read more...]
UK takes great leap forward with regenerative farming model
Now that the agricultural sector in the UK has become detached from Brussels, it is taking a big step towards sustainable farming. A new impact measurement model, the Global Farm Metric, is to become the standard by which farmers and supermarkets measure and manage the impact of food production. The National Farmers Union, the British Ministry of Agriculture and four major … [Read more...]
Pollinating organic skill among SA smallholder farmers
The South African Organic Sector Organisation (SAOSO) in collaboration with Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) South Africa (SA) has launched South Africa’s first Ecological Organic Agriculture Pollinator programme. The programme aims to support smallholder farmers to gain recognition for their organic practices and enables them to “pollinate” organic knowledge to support … [Read more...]
Growing pride in African indigenous crops
Nandi Mkwanazi’s agricultural journey started in her grandmother’s garden where she learnt how to grow spinach, tomatoes and chives and rear a coop of Nguni chickens. In 2018 she re-established a 10x12 meter garden in her grandmother’s back yard to feed her family. Seeing the success of her work she quickly expanded and founded Nanloy Organic Farm on two hectares, farming … [Read more...]
SA researchers shortlisted in international forestry research award
Three South African researchers have made it to the global shortlist of the Blue Sky Young Researchers and Innovation Awards. They were selected from 14 candidates in the South African round. The awards, launched in 2016 by the International Council of Forest and Paper Associations (ICFPA), aim to recognise, celebrate and promote innovations being developed in the global … [Read more...]
The search for sustainable cotton
"We are at a unique stage in our history. Never before have we had such an awareness of what we are doing to the planet, and never before have we had the power to do something about that… The future of humanity and indeed, all life on earth, now depends on us." - David Attenborough. From David Attenborough to world leaders, we are hearing that the next decade will determine … [Read more...]
The frightening reality of SA’s legal poisons
Called “crop protection solutions” by producers, 67 agrichemicals which are banned in the EU remain legal in South Africa. An article published in September this year exposed the double standards of the EU in which the region was found to export (and obviously profit from) the self-same pesticides that they deem too poisonous for use in their own fields. It’s a shocking … [Read more...]
