Hortgro se Rentmeester (en Braaimeester!) Groet
Dit is moeilik om die Hortgro Paarl-kantoor voor te stel sonder Louis van Zyl. Het jou paaie met die sagtevrugtebedryf gekruis, sou jy hom leer ken, want vir etlike dekades was Louis nie net Hortgro se Braaimeester nie, maar ook…
How FruitLook helps farmers monitor and identify problems in their blocks
FruitLook is a web-based tool that is informing farmers, consultants and researchers in the Western Cape since 2011. It used to be used primarily for monitoring the growth and water use of vineyards, hence, its original moniker of GrapeLook. Since…
How well is transformation doing in the Langkloof?
The Jobs Fund Initiatives is the Deciduous Fruit Development Chamber’s Commercialisation Programme. It started in 2016 and is aimed at graduating a group of smallholder farmers to commercial status. Hortgro and the DFDC-SA recently went on a monitoring and evaluation…
New phytosanitary facility will help market access for industry
By Kara van der Berg A new phytosanitary facility dedicated to deciduous fruit will help improve access to new markets and maintain current ones for the industry. Hortgro approved and funded the building of a new phytosanitary research laboratory that…
Steenvrugte | ’n Interessante en unieke seisoen
Na ’n wankelrige begin het die afgelope steenvrugseisoen bedryfskenners aangenaam verras. Anna Mouton het met die steenvrugkenners gepraat. Lentetoestande bepaal grootliks die verwagting vir die komende seisoen so die trietsige 2024 lente het kommer by steenvrugprodusente gewek. Buiten onsekerheid oor…
The leader of the band
Text and picture by Gerrit Rautenbach Jason Baartman is a man who lives passionately for agriculture. At first, he sometimes wondered why he didn’t opt for something like law or engineering or the like. Maybe he felt inferior about being…
The War in Iran: A World Reshaped, and What It Means for South Africa
Based on remarks by political economist Ronak Gopaldas at the Hortforum meeting, March 2026 By Elise-Marie Steenkamp Three weeks into the war in Iran, the world is grappling with a conflict that is far more complex — and potentially far…
The women of Laastedrif
In any given set-up, organisation, team or business, different threads connect all the right dots, making it work splendidly. At the farm Laastedrif, at the top of Bo-Swaarmoed in the Witzenberg District, one of these threads was woven by a…
UPDATE: Restricted agricultural remedies and implementation of pest control operator (PCO) regulations
FRESH NOTES 222: Update of Restricted Agricultural Remedies and Implementation of Pest Control Operators (PCOs) Hortgro acknowledges the concerns of fruit producers regarding the recent implementation of the Regulations relating to Agricultural Remedies and Pest Control Operator (PCO) regulations. These…