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You've reached the Department of Agriculture: Western Cape's official website. This site is dedicated to providing an efficient and comprehensive agricultural information service.Looking for something specific? Try a SEARCH on this page.
Events calendar:
October 2008
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Watch this space for details! For more information contact the Communication Team, Tel. (021) 808 5111.
Feedback: e-mail the Webmaster with comments or questions.
Links to websites of agricultural events, festivals, shows
AGRI-YOUTH:
Careers, info, games and more
Your weather today
National Warning - 1 October
Advisory: Very cold conditions are expected on the western highgound of the Western Cape and south-western highground of the Northern Cape on Thursday.
LATEST NEWS
Current situation: Western Cape Water supply - 17 Sept
The system remains essentially full, though Voelvlei has been deliberately drawn down to 99.4% as is explained below.Voelvlei is an off-channel dam which receives the bulk of its water from two feeder canals from the 24 Rivers/ Leeu River and the Klein Berg River. The diversion from these rivers can be stopped so that Voelvlei was designed without a spillway. However, local runoff from the surrounding areas can cause Voelvlei to continue filling. To create a buffer to absorb this local runoff and to prevent the water level from rising too much in Voelvlei Dam, about 5 m3/s is currently being released from the dam. As a result the Voelvlei Dam is currently about 99.4% full instead of 100% full. Read more here.
2008/08/29
Female Farmer Awards
At the ninth annual Female Farmer Award Ceremony, the provincial winners for this prestigious competition were Marinda du Plessis (top producer national markets), Khumbulani Farming Project (Top producer for household use) and Vuk'unzenzele Community Nursery (Top producer informal markets). Read more here.2008/09/22
Orientation day: oenology exchange students
As part of the promotion of skills development in the agricultural sector, the Department of Agriculture: Western Cape, in co-operation with SAWIT, is sending a group of oenology learnership students to France to obtain international exposure to the wine industry. The next group of candidates will visit France during September and October this year. Read more here.2008/07/28
Climate Change
Services
- Veterinary laboratory services
- Plant production laboratory services
- Pest monitor
- Weather analysis Agri-Outlook - August '08 now available
- Agricultural statistics
- Frequently Asked Questions - FAQ
Programmes
What do we do? The following programmes should show you ....- Sustainable Resource Management
- Technology, Research and Development
- Farmer Support and Development
- Agricultural economics
- Structured Agricultural Training
- Veterinary Services
Career opportunities: click here
Media
At the Department of Agriculture, much information can be downloaded by using the following links:- Information sheets
Information sheets provide information about animals production and diseases, plant production and diseases, and many other topics of agricultural interest. - Agri-Probe
Our quarterly magazine, fully downloadable. - Radio Elsenburg
Afrikaans radio programmes from Radio Sonder Grense - Official Publications
Official publications, such as the Annual Report, Strategic plans, etc. - Other publications
Includes guides, strategic documents, collaborative publications with other stakeholders.
Training & Youth
Degree course? Short courses? Your career in agriculture starts here! Agricultural training is offered by the Department at the Cape Institute for Agricultural Training: Elsenburg.
Click here for more information on Higher Education courses and Further Education and Training courses.
Check out what agriculture offers in terms of career opportunities here.
Combining in-service training and independent research - the Young Professionals Programme offers opportunities for students who wish to complete their Master's degrees.
Emerging farmer?
- Land reform enquiries?
Although the Department of Agriculture: Western Cape is not directly involved with land claims, the procedure for land claims is outlined here. Contact details for the Department of Land Affairs are also available here. - Want to set up a food garden? We can help!
Special interest
- Climate Change
Climate change is widely recognised as the most serious environmental threat to our planet. - read more here. - PROVIDE project
The Provincial Decision-Making Enabling (PROVIDE) Project is a national project to facilitate policy decision-making. - Water and biodiversity
The Western Cape is particularly vulnerable in terms of surface water as well as biodiversity. Have a look here for links to our activities relating to water and biodiversity.
