Apples to the rescue
A group of hikers, with the help of Hortgro, Kromco and the Paul Clüver clan from De Rust Farm in Elgin created a hiking event in the Groenland Mountains. It was labelled Hiking for Hunger. The idea was to walk…
Langkloof fruit farmers weathering the storms
By Elise-Marie Steenkamp On 13 January 2021, the Langkloof in the Eastern Cape experienced a severe hail storm that damaged in the order of 1000 hectares of apple, pear and stone fruit orchards. These orchards account for 20% of the…
Adriaan Theron lei ‘Store-It Group’
Adriaan Theron was een van Hortgro Science se beurshouers, wat nou ‘n leidende rol in die na-oes kant van die bedryf speel. Hortgro het vir Adriaan gevra om meer oor homself, asook die werk van die Store-It Group, te vertel.…
CAPE TOWN PORT BEACON OF HOPE IN UNCERTAIN TIMES
By Jacques du Preez During the past season, logistics, and in particular the functioning of the main ports from where we ship our fruit, have been a huge headache during the initial and further lockdown levels in South Africa and…
The first Witte Wijn apples are growing on South African soil again
While we don’t know for how many years the Witte Wijn apple, the first-ever apple variety picked in the Cape in 1662, was lost, estimates by Tru-Cape Fruit Marketing’s sleuths suggest it may have been hundreds of years. Since returning…
Hortgro’s principled stance on IP rights
The ongoing dispute in the blueberry industry relating to intellectual property (IP) and related Plant Breeders’ Rights (PBR), is noted with concern. This is a private commercial matter and should be handled as such. Given the potential negative impact on…
The South African apple variety story
In this column about the history of apple varieties in South Africa, we will investigate and explore why some varieties succeed and others disappear. The column will consist of extracts taken from a book by Henk Griessel and Buks Nel,…
BRIGHT FUTURE FOR NEW LEADERS
BRIGHT FUTURE FOR NEW LEADERS By Elise-Marie Steenkamp Twelve fruit farm production managers recently completed a year-long leadership programme aimed at developing human capital on-farms. The twelve graduated recently and received their diplomas at a ceremony in Tulbagh. In 2019…
IVAN MEYER OPENS INDUSTRY TISSUE CULTURE FACILITY
A state-of-the-art Tissue Culture Facility (TCF) was opened by Western Cape Minister of Agriculture, Dr Ivan Meyer, at Bernheim Farm, outside Paarl, yesterday. This initiative driven by the South African deciduous fruit industry is an effort to keep up with…
Die gevaar en gewin van nuwe kultivars
Bedryfskenners gee raad Deur Anna Mouton “Ek het in die twintig jaar wat ek boer al amper 150 hektaar vrugte geplant,” vertel Hendrik Pohl, ZZ2 se produksiebestuurder op Bokveldskloof, Ceres. “My pa het bykans niks geplant nie, want hy’t geboer…
TWELVE POINT PLAN TO ADDRESS RURAL SAFETY
By Elise-Marie Steenkamp In an attempt to facilitate a safe, protected and secure agricultural environment and farming community, the Western Cape Department of Agriculture (WCDA) shared a 12-point rural safety action plan at a recent stakeholder engagement session. This action…
Measuring and Managing Transformation
Deciduous Fruit Industry signs pledge to lead the way At the end of October, representatives from Hortgro Pome, Stone and the DFDC came together with the aim to align the industry strategy and to develop “an implementable, measurable, and future-focused…