Farmer’s Weekly – 09 August 2019

for diversification for food producers
to become the suppliers of not only
affordable food, but also additional
energy for the national grid.
Technological developments are set to
disrupt agriculture, for better or worse,
and farmers need to ensure that they stay
abreast of these advances. Just one example:
cattle are being auctioned more and more
via online platforms such as live-streamed
auctions, which enable buyers to inspect
stock they are interested in without
travelling long distances to various auctions.

Farmers now also have the opportunity

to compare the prices of inputs between

regions in ‘real time’ to make sure

they don’t overpay for inputs.

Don’t stop innovating

It is said that the lack of innovation will

become the third-largest threat for companies

globally over the next 10 years. But for those

who keep their focus and continue to invest

in new technology that will enable them

to remain competitive, agriculture faces

an exciting, and lucrative, future. (^) ▪FW
Rainfall
Fieldcrops
Linear (rainfall)
Graph2:annualrainfall(mm/year)andthe
700 Grossproducer Value (in rands) of field crops (rhs)
600
500
650
550
150
400
9 7/98 99/00 01/02 03/04 05/06 0 7/0 8 09/10 11/12 13/14 15/16 1 7/1 8
70 000 000
50 000 000
30 000 000
60 000 000
40 000 000
20 000 000
10 000 000