Farmer's Weekly (South Africa)
Studies show citrus virus A link to fruit-drop disease
New research suggests that citrus virus A (CiVA) is associated with citrus impietratura disease (CID), which is characterised by abnormal fruit drop in citrus crops.
The disease also causes circular, green, sunken lesions with gumming in the albedo of affected fruit.
Growers have been requested to alert Citrus Research International if they see any symptoms of CID in their orchards prior to harvest so that the affected trees can be identified.
Glynnis Cook, programme coordinator for graft transmissible diseases at the CRI, said that symptom expression was likely to be environmentally determined and infected trees might not show symptoms every year.
“CiVA’s association with [CID] must still be clarified, but several studies conducted worldwide are showing a link between the two.
“The disease was recently observed in older grapefruit orchards in Nkwalini, KwaZulu-Natal. Samples showing typical symptoms tested positive for CiVA, whereas symptomless trees tested negative. CiVA was also detected in Delta Valencia trees with fruit rind symptoms that may be associated with the virus.”
Cook noted that a high percentage of CiVA had been detected in older Delta Valencia orchards, but not in newer plantings.
“CiVA was not detected in the Delta Valencia nucleus block plants, the mother trees or multiplication trees at the Citrus Foundation Block (CFB). Results suggest that the original open-ground trees at the CFB, first used for budwood supply, might have contained CiVA. However, new budwood trees, obtained through shoot-tip grafting and re-established at the CFB, tested free from CiVA.
“In addition, CiVA was identified in a Clementine cultivar, but no fruit symptoms were observed.
“No insect vector has been identified, and the only known means of transmission at this stage is infected budwood. Control of the virus is currently through the use of virus-free budwood for propagation.”
Affected growers were advised not to use material from CiVA-infected trees for propagation or topworking purposes. – Lindi Botha
The Agricultural Produce Agents Amendment Bill seeks to improve on the Agricultural Produce Agents Act of 1992, according to Francois Knowles, Registrar of the Agricultural Produce Agents’ Council.
He said the amendments were required to keep the Act relevant.
“Ultimately, we’re aiming for futureproofed legislation that will manage agents, protect producers and stimulate growth in the fresh produce market.”
The Act makes provision for three categories of agents: exporters, local fresh produce agents, and livestock agents, he said.
Anton Kruger, CEO of the Fresh Produce Exporters’ Forum (FPEF), said the forum supported legislation that protected farmers and export agents, and amendments to the
Act were therefore needed.
“Current legislation does not reflect the complexities of the export market for fresh produce,” the organisation stated in its presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development. The amendment bill also suggested that dedicated legislation be drafted for exporters.
“[However], we feel that the amendment bill could hamper growth and increase barriers to entry for new agents through additional administrative requirements which are unsuited to the realities of our members,” Kruger said.
He added that some export agents were also farmers, and the FPEF had identified at least 17 different scenarios of interactions between export agents and international clients.
“We need legislation that understands and reflects these complexities. The amendment bill is proposing that mandatory credit insurance be in place between transacting parties. But this is simply not possible for many of the international markets where we do business.
“In Africa, the Middle East, India, China, Russia and Southeast Asia, credit insurance is simply not available, and due to longstanding [relationships] with clients in our traditional markets, it isn’t required.”
According to Kruger, the requirement for credit insurance on its own could slash South Africa’s current export volumes by as much as 40%.
“As exporters, we [also] have to deal with weather delays and other logistical problems at our harbours that are completely outside of our control, making the proposed time frames impractical for export agents.” – Wouter Kriel
The Livestock Producers’ Organisation (LPO) of Namibia has expressed concern about the recent announcement by MeatCo, the country’s national meat processing and marketing entity, regarding largescale retrenchments.
This was according to Thinus Pretorius, chairperson of the LPO, who said that although the LPO fully agreed that MeatCo needed to be restructured and realigned because of the company’s current negative cost structure, the decision to retrench personnel older than 55 in the process was extremely worrying.
“Any business is as good as its intellectual capital, experience and skills. Common sense dictates that an employer should first determine what core expertise and experience should be retained before embarking on a retrenchment process,” Pretorius told Farmer’s Weekly.
MeatCo, which acted as a value-adding and marketing operation on behalf of red meat producers in Namibia, said in a statement that it had embarked on a business optimisation and restructuring process that would make it a more agile structure in order to act more robustly in the global arena.
The cutback on staff would contribute to a more competitive, sustainable and profitable company.
The services of employees who were 55 and older, in particular those who had already reached the age of 60 and above, would therefore be terminated in the near future.
According to Pretorius, the LPO had regularly expressed its concern about the declining competitiveness of MeatCo, and called for restructuring to place the company on a sound financial footing. The decision taken by the board of directors to make changes was therefore supported by the LPO.
“However, it is critically important to maintain the confidence of producers, customers and financiers. These retrenchment decisions could potentially cause serious harm to the business world’s confidence in MeatCo. The LPO will urgently seek a meeting with the board of directors of MeatCo to discuss the matter.”
According to MeatCo’s statement, the volatility, uncertainty and complexity of the business environment, as well as the constant, unpredictable change that was now the norm in the business world in which MeatCo operated, called for businesses to adapt in order to remain relevant. With the current interventions, the company wanted to ensure its future and remain true to its commitment to create wealth for all Namibian citizens. – Annelie Coleman
To overcome labour shortages due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a ban on recruiting new foreign workers, Malaysia’s Sime Darby Plantation will transport 100 migrant workers from Bangladesh as part of a pilot scheme.
The company told Reuters that the scheme was being “conducted in collaboration with the Malaysian government to put returnto-work plans in motion in a controlled and safe manner”.
Approximately two million documented foreign workers, mainly from Bangladesh, Indonesia and Nepal, worked in Malaysian plantations and factories, as these jobs were shunned by locals, who regarded them as dirty, dangerous and difficult.
When the country closed its borders a year ago to stem the spread of the pandemic, many companies faced a labour shortage.
A ban on hiring new foreign labourers, aimed at protecting jobs for Malaysians, also came into effect shortly afterwards.
Sime Darby, the world’s largest palm oil producer, said it had chartered a flight to bring back 123 Bangladeshi employees who had returned home before the pandemic and were then unable to return to Malaysia when borders were closed. – Staff reporter
Despite the uncertainty and slow economic growth posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, diversified agriculture and forestry company TWK Investments Limited’s interim results for the six months ended 28 February 2021 showed resilience and sustainable growth.
Commenting on the results, CEO André Myburgh said that noteworthy contributions to the improved results had come from the company’s sawmill, BedRock Mining, timber, Sunshine Seedlings, general trade and fertiliser divisions, translating into a 41,8% increase to R89,53 million in profit after tax (February 2020: R63,12 million).
According to a statement released by the company, revenue increased marginally by 0,2% to R3,84 billion (February 2020: R3,83 billion), while earnings per share increased by 44,4% to 242,67c/share (February 2020: 168,09c/share), and the results benefitted from an increase in general trade sales volumes and margin improvement.
Cash from operations increased by 12% to R193,98 million (February 2020: R173,22 million).
Revenue for the retail and mechanisation segment increased by 13,6% from R1,79 billion (February 2020) to R2,04 billion as this segment reported its best results on record.
Myburgh said excellent trading conditions experienced throughout all the major operating divisions and increased fertiliser sales had contributed to a rise of 188,9% in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to R83,87 million (February 2020: R29,28 million).
He attributed the increase to high fertiliser prices and the fact that farmers were able to spend more on input costs.
The grain segment’s revenue increased by 41,5% from R402,29 million (February 2020) to R569,23 million. However, there was a 7,5% decline in silo throughput due to grain being transported directly from farms to end-users.
Myburgh said Eskom’s reintroduction of rolling blackouts had hindered the local grain mills’ performance and, as a result, EBITDA had decreased by 5,2% from R13,95 million (February 2020) to R13,22 million. He expected that a strong performance in the second half of the year would result in the previous year’s results being surpassed – Pieter Dempsey