Maize Farmers

The planting season started with predictions of a record crop but the weather had other plans

Senakhomo is recognised for her outstanding maize yields

Maize is a tough sell ­­– but Lawrence Mtsweni and his daughters are keeping the dream alive.

Small-scale farmers nearly starved while a Limpopo milling giant fought to stay afloat.

Given the agricultural potential in former homelands and the challenges of communal land policies, this may be the time to review them.

Drought in some key maize-growing regions has curbed output, and maize is being imported for the first time in 22 months as a result.

Some of this country’s richest maize farmland is also home to some of our poorest people.

Lesotho’s declaration of a food emergency in August went fairly unnoticed in South Africa, but make no mistake: this is an emergency.

Not a soul who goes to the supermarket will have failed to notice the rapid rate of price increases of almost all foods in the past 18 months.

The past decade has seen the end of cheap oil, the magic growth ingredient for the global economy since World War II.

Adverse weather in other major grain-producing countries has speculators betting on costs rising.

SA maize and citrus farmers are setting their sights on Asia as they grapple with increasing competition in Africa and falling demand in Europe.

After a big spike in maize prices last year — Grain SA hopes that a new information mechanism will make the market more transparent.

Consumers want their maize meal and flour to be white, even though this makes them less healthy.