Most recent news
2010
2010-08-02: Western Cape land reform: :”Equity share schemes have been proven to be a successful vehicle for land reform and broad based black economic empowerment in the Western Cape. There are currently 83 such schemes in the Province, empowering close to 10 000 farm workers and their families. National government has placed a moratorium on these schemes, making it impossible for farmers and workers who want to initiate new equity share schemes to progress. Read more here.
2010-06-28: Van Rensburg supports biotechnology: “Agriculture needs cutting edge technology in order to remain competitive and profitable”, Gerrit van Rensburg, Western Cape Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said during a visit to the new facility of South African company Genetwister Africa outside Stellenbosch. The Western Cape Government, through Wesgro, is assisting Genetwister in establishing itself in the province. Read more here.
2010-06-15: Drought aid in Eden: The Western Cape Department of Agriculture yesterday distributed animal feed to five commercial and 60 small farmers in the Langkloof, Southern Cape. The Department worked together with Agri Klein Karoo in coordinating this relief programme, which is part of the R26.9 million Eden drought aid scheme launched at the beginning of this year. Read more here.
Additional help for Eden farmers requested: Additional help requested for Eden droughtWestern Cape Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Gerrit van Rensburg, asked National Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Tina Joemat-Pettersson, for an additional R50 million disaster aid towards the drought stricken Eden District. “The R26.9 million received from National Government earlier this year is spent”, Van Rensburg said today. The Eden District was declared a disaster area in November 2009 due to an ongoing drought. Read more here.
2010-05-13: Export initiatives“Competing on the export market means you have to up your game to the next level” Western Cape Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Gerrit van Rensburg, told new farmers who took part in the Department of Agriculture’s European Union Market Access initiative in March this year. Van Rensburg addressed the farmers at a debriefing function held at Elsenburg, outside Stellenbosch last night. Read more here. Photograph available here.
10-05-2010: Gerrit van Rensburg opens farmworker summit: Gerrit van Rensburg, Western Cape Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, addressed delegates at the Western Cape Farm Worker Summit in Goudini, outside Rawsonville. He said that the Western Cape Government acknowledges the valuable role farm workers play in the province. “You are important people”, Van Rensburg said. Read more here Speech here.
28-04-2010: First fatal rift valley fever case in Western Cape - no cause for panic: The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) confirmed today that a 49-year old male from the Karoo has been the first human to die from Rift Valley Fever in the Western Cape. He died in Oudtshoorn Hospital. The NICD is still investigating the patient’s source of exposure. It is unsure in which manner he contracted the disease. There have been confirmed cases of Rift Valley Fever in animals in the Oudtshoorn area. Read more here.
29-04-27: Rift valley fever vs vets: The Western Cape Department of Agriculture’s programme for veterinary services has often been heralded as amongst the best in the country and possibly Africa. One of the industries for which they act as watchdogs, is the equine industry with its thousands of race horses, sporting horses and work or cart horses. And the enemy against which they keep their vigil is African Horse Sickness (AHS), a deadly disease with a mortality rate of up to 95%. Read more here
19-04-2010: Minister van Rensburg speaks his mind on extension services in the Western Cape: Gerrit van Rensburg, Western Cape Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, urged extension workers of the Western Cape Department of Agriculture to focus on land reform projects that stand a chance to succeed. He addressed the Department’s extension officers at an Extension Symposium in Caledon, Western Cape. Read more here. The speech he delivered is available here.
13-04-2010: Enough Rift Valley Fever vaccine available: The Western Cape Department of Agriculture today confirmed that Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP) has significantly increased its Rift Valley Fever (RVF) vaccine production. It is building up an adequate quantity of inactive RVF vaccine. The inactivated vaccine is safe to use on all animals, including pregnant animals. Currently OBP has more than 5 million doses of live RVF vaccine, but this type of vaccine may cause abortions in pregnant animals. Read more here ...
2010-03-03: Minister Van Rensburg reacts on new Land Reform deal: "All South African farmers should grab this opportunity to assist in restoring failed land reform farms back to its former productive state”, Gerrit van Rensburg, Western Cape Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development said. Read more here...
2010-02-25: Minister van Rensburg says electricity hike will hit farmers hard. Agriculture in the Western Cape will be hard hit by the doubling of electricity tariffs over the next three years, Gerrit van Rensburg, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: Western Cape, said. “Our aim should be for sufficient and affordable food, but farmers must also be able to make a profit in the process”, Van Rensburg said. Read more here...
2010-02-21: Minister concerned about increased fuel levy “I am concerned about the effect that the raised fuel levy will have on the shelf price of food, as fuel costs play a major role in the distribution thereof”, Gerrit van Rensburg, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Western Cape, said in response to Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan’s recent National Budget announcement on the increased fuel levy. Read more here...
2010-02-16: Minister van Rensburg visits M’Hudi wine farm. Minister van Rensburg visited Prof. Diale Rangaka and his wife, Malmsey, on their wine farm M’Hudi, in Koelenhof, outside Stellenbosch yesterday. “The Department of Agriculture has a long history with the Rangaka family, and I wanted to see how things are progressing on their farm”, Van Rensburg said. Read more here...
2010-02-08: Southern Cape gets drought aid: The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Western Cape, Gerrit van Rensburg, today announced an aid package of R26.9 Million for the drought stricken Eden District Municipality in the southern Cape. The area was declared a disaster area on 13 November 2009. Read more here...
2009
2009-06-26: Scholarships handed over to essay winners
“I want to see future Ministers of Agriculture coming from this school”, Western Cape
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Gerrit van Rensburg, recently said at
Sophumelela High School in Philippi, Western Cape. He attended a handover ceremony
where two students from Sophumelela received scholarships from the Department of
Agriculture in the Western Cape. Read more here....
2008
2008-02-13: Agriculture and Eskom meet
The task team consisting of representatives from Agriculture and ESCOM
had its first meeting this morning in order to address the effect of
load shedding on Agriculture and to determine the way forward in finding
an amicable solution with the emphasis on the wine and deciduous fruit
industries as well as for the broader agricultural sector in the Western
Cape. Read more here...
2008-01-25: Power cuts detrimental to agriculture MEC for Agriculture in the WEstern Cape, Cobus Dowry, and representatives from the deciduous fruit, table grape and wine industries, as well as organised agriculture in the Western Cape met with senior officials from Eskom today to address the disastrous effects of load shedding on agriculture. A joint task team was created to address these issues. Read more here...
