A letter to the President in the times of the Corona Virus
A letter to the President from Prof. James Blignaut. In the times of the Corona Virus we need to see the light that Regenerative Agriculture provides.
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Guidelines for practical soil erosion control in rural Africa
Wells for Zoë – Enyazini, Mzimba District, Malawi ReStory narrator: Ken Coetzee (Conservation Management Services; www.conservationmanagementservices.co.za) Erosion type: head cut
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Berg and Breede Riparian Rehabilitation Programme, Western Cape, South Africa
The Berg and Breede Riparian Rehabilitation Programme (est. 2013) is one of the largest active riparian rehabilitation projects in South Africa. Initiated by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, the project has planted approximately 2.16 million plants since its inception within an area of 18 ha. The primary aims of this project is to improve ecological functioning of the river, to create jobs (through EPWP) and to buffer the effects of climate change (flooding). The programme has involved over 30 landowners over the years, as key partners in their endeavours and Intaba Environmental Services has been one of the main service providers in this programme.
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Clearing by a Jobs4Carbon team in September 2021 of invasive alien trees threatening the Kamma 3 wetland
ReStory narrator: Donovan Kotze This report was originally compiled for the Gourtiz Cluster Biosphere Reserve (GCBR), Riversdale. Background Owing especially
Read moreZimbabwe had a bumper harvest: what went right and what needs work
Eness Paidamoyo Mutsvangwa-Sammie, University of Pretoria Zimbabwe has reported a bumper harvest of maize and other grains, capable of feeding
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Regenerative agriculture case studies and the story of Laureano
In order to better understand the impact of what has been happening among the more than 15 million smallholder farmers using “regenerative agriculture” (RA) across the developing world, let’s first look at the impact it has had on a single, more or less average farmer, among them. In the photo above, Laureano is showing us the nature and results of his switch to RA. Why did Laureano begin practicing RA? Frankly, it’s because of the impressive list of benefits. One of the many beauties of RA is that by the very act of benefiting the individual farmer in multitudinous ways, it also benefits all of humankind in multitudinous ways. Contrary to what so often happens in human life, there is no contradiction in RA between the individual welfare of the producer and the general welfare of humankind.
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Dung beetles – indicators of biodiversity
Apart from the obvious global challenges such as climate change and ensuring future food security in a rapidly changing environment, decreasing global biodiversity is also a very serious challenge.
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Meijer’s Rust Restoration
In 2010, Barry Meijer returned from the United States where he had lived for the last 35 years. He’d had great memories of his time in the army at Oudtshoorn so he decided to buy a farm there. Barry had grown up on a farm near Eshowe and, while running his garden services business in California, he had done some sideline farming of oats and barley, so he knew a little about farming. When he started farming at Meijer’s Rust in Meiringspoort near the town of De Rust he continued what had been done there before and if he needed any advice, he asked the neighbours.
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Mahlathini Development Foundation – transforming through collaboration
The MDF started working with smallholder farmers in a village outside Bergville in 2013. Today 350 farmers from 18 villages in the area and 30 from the Bergville Youth Group take part in the programme. In southern KwaZulu-Natal – Highflats, Ixopo, Creighton and Umzimkhulu – 150 farmers have joined the movement, whereas 180 farmers from the region stretching from Greytown to Wartburg and Tongaat participate.
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Sustainability in the South African Dairy Industry – a project by MilkSA
South Africa is a country with a rich endowment of natural resources, which include its biodiversity and ecosystems. The National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) is responsible to fulfil the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). With the adoption of the CBD’s Strategic Plan for Biodiversity, the NBSAP has outlined a path to ensure that the management of biodiversity assets and ecological infrastructure continue to support South Africa’s development path and play an important role in underpinning the economy. As the demand for agricultural products has increased, driven by the nutritional needs of a growing population, the importance of developing a biodiversity-based agricultural system to ensure future sustainability should be regarded as a key driver for the Industry. Dairy farms across South Africa have widely undertaken (although still not always to a formal extent, especially among smaller-scale farmers) to integrate biodiversity- conscious approaches in their businesses. The vast costs involved in repairing damaged soils are understood and therefore the benefits in monitoring soil health, structure, nutrients and biological activity are recognised. In general, therefore, the dairy industry supports the vision and strategies of the NBSAP.
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Fokus op bewaringslandbou
Hierdie twee artikels beskryf Dreyer en Dreyer Bdy Bk se reis van ’n konvensionele gemengde boerdery na ’n bewaringslandboustelsel vanuit hul eie perspektief beskryf word.
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