AgriBulletin_130301

Februarie 2013

LANGS DIE OEVER BOEREDAG 2013

21 & 22 March 2013

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Maart 2013

Farm Murders

MBSA sponsors Langs Die Oever

2013 the darkest year since 2005?

Langs Die Oever Boeredag will be held on Mr Kallies Erasmus’ farm on 21 & 22 March near Die Eiland Mercedes-Benz South Africa (MBSA) commercial vehicles is the proud title sponsor of the 2013 Langs Die Oever Boeredag! Having established sustainable business partnerships within the agricultural sector, MBSA appreciates support from

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farmers. Mr Kobus van Zyl, vice president of commercial vehicles at MBSA says: “Mercedes-Benz South Africa has a vested interest in farming. Food security in our country, as well as the economy depends on a healthy and vibrant agricultural sector, which in turn is dependent on viable transport solutions.”

Mercedes-Benz trucks will display the full range of its products at the show. Vehicles on display will include models from the mighty Actros, Axor and Atego models. MB trucks featuring the internationally proven Euro 5 engine with the emission reducing technology BlueTEC are a prime example of modern diesel technology — clean and efficient.

Several local operators seeking a solution for greener transportation are operating with MB BlueTEC models.

Mercedes-Benz trucks continue a long-established legacy of trucks that bring unprecedented comfort and functionality to distribution operations, including the agricultural sector.

The trucks will be complemented by Mercedes-

Benz’s trio of SUVs, the G-Glass, GL-Class and M-Class. The iconic Mercedes-Benz G-Class will be making an appearance at the show. It offers state-of-the-art, powerful engines and a range of luxurious appointments and the very latest safety features, as well as legendary off-road capabilities.

The Mercedes-Benz GL is a luxury SUV with a strong standing within the premium luxury segment will be a major attraction. Off-roading in natural environments, are typical activities that farmers owning a GL relish.

Completing the trio will be the M-Class known for its dynamism, refinement and efficiency. It offers the most extensive safety equipment in its segment, and as a result, it is

one of the safest full-size SUV’s.

The undisputed showstopper will be the legendary Mercedes-Benz Unimog! The well renowned navigator of hostile terrain offers top offroad performance and its extreme manoeuvrability makes it possible to go virtually anywhere. The Unimog’s versatility gives it the edge and there are not many, if any, other vehicles that are more suited for rescue missions and fire fighting amongst many applications.

MBSA’s one-stop-shop value chain offering offers a peace of mind transport solution. Van Zyl adds: “We offer competitive finance, a comprehensive dealer network, a wide range of products within the value chain that includes CharterWay, FleetBoard and TruckStore.”

It appears as if 2013 is heading to be the darkest year in terms of farm attacks and farm murders since 2005.

During January eight people died in seventeen attacks on farms. According to TAUSA’s statistics most incidents occurred in Gauteng. Five people were murdered in eight attacks in the province. The unenviable second place is held by the Free State, where three people died in six attacks, two attacks occurred in Mpumalanga and one in Natal.

These figures indicate a drastic increase compared to January 2012, when five people were murdered in eleven attacks.

Eventually during the whole of last year 51 people died in 141 attacks.

If the tendency from January 2012, as it eventually realized at the end of that year, should be applied to 2013, based on the January figures, 82 people could be murdered in 218 attacks on farms this year, warns Mr Henry Geldenhuys, Deputy President of TAUSA and Chairman of the Union’s safety and security committee. “It would be the highest rate since 2005, when 115 people were killed on farms.

“TAUSA is therefore not in vain

concerned about farm attacks.

In the light thereof it remains inconceivable that the minister of police and the commissioner of police have still not replied to TAUSA’s urgent request for discussions about this matter a year ago. The last time something was heard from the minister was a public tirade against during a press conference, but during which he still gave no indication of what he plans to do about this unacceptable state of affairs,” said Geldenhuys.

“TAU SA’s members want to be part of the solution to this problem. There are many suggestions that we would like to discuss with the minister in order to offer our help, but then he should grasp the opportunity for such discussions with both hands, instead of ignoring us or discrediting us in the media.

“With the information of the current trend at our disposal, farmers are warned to reassess their security measures very urgently. That should also include the evaluation of the reliability of employees, especially where labour unrest is a potential problem and where farmers have already suffered severe damages,” said Geldenhuys.

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Maart 2013

Proactive “quarantine” Agri Letaba Although no farms in the area have been quarantined yet, Hoedspruit farmers have decided to stand together and act on the Asian fruit fly danger before this pesky fly wreaks havoc again.

LiN Media/Kruger2Canyon Last year between April and May only three Bactrocera invadens flies, better known as Asian fruit flies, were caught in traps in the Hoedspruit area and several farms were quarantined. This year, multiple flies have already been caught in traps on at least nine farms in the area.

“This exotic fly affects at least 72 different vegetable and fruit crops. Its production potential is to double its population every six days. This is why we are not waiting for government to supply the necessary pesticides but are instead clubbing together to tackle the problem before it escalates,” says Mr Tom van der Meulen, a local entomologist and gyrocopter pilot who is spraying the entire Hoedspruit area, including gardens in Hoedspruit town, with the necessary pesticides.

“Don’t worry, we are not poisoning people or animals! Both pesticides used are species specific and don’t even kills rats,” says Van der Meulen.

He is using GF120 to spray gar-

dens and mangoes. The naturally derived active ingredient, spinosat, makes up 99,76% of the product and is less poisonous than table salt, according to him. He uses Hymlure mixed with a Marmite-like bait to spray citrus in the area. The Van der Meulen shows the Marmite-like active ingredient in Hymlure is consistency of the bait mixed with pesa protein called hydrolysate. ticide, used to eradicate Bactrocera invadens in the Hoedspruit area.

No citrus that will be harvested in 28 days’ time is being placed on each listed hectare in sprayed. the Hoedspruit area.

The aerial pesticide spray kills For more info, contact Jaco Fioff the female flies while 30 000 vas on 071 296 2784. Jaco heads ‘mat blocks’ will take care of the up the organising committee for males. Four ‘mat blocks’ will be Bactrocera invadens.

Van der Meulen is seen preparing for take-off to do another round of aerial crop spraying with his gyrocopter.

het ‘n nuwe sekretaresse

Retha Nel Agri Letaba en die jaarlikse Letaba Expo het pas ‘n nuwe sekretaresse, me Naomi Roux, verwelkom.

Sy kom oorspronklik van Stilfontein en het na skool Toerismebestuur aan die Vaal Universiteit van Tegnologie gestudeer.

Met haar uiteenlopende werksondervinding is sy ‘n Naomi Roux aanwins vir die organisasie.

Sy het sewe jaar ervaring in toerismebestuur as bestuurder van ‘n gesiene hotel se ontvangs (front office manager) in Engeland. Sy het daarna by die ATKV Klein Kariba gewerk en was vir vier jaar deel van ‘n konferensie- en spanboumaatskappy. Daarna het sy en haar kêrel vir ‘n jaar in Suid-Amerika getoer en Engelse klasse aangebied.

Hulle het ‘n paar maande terug na Tzaneen verhuis omdat haar kêrel, mnr James Excell, ‘n werk hier gekry het. Hy is betrokke by sportontwikkeling by skole in Nkowankowa, waar meer effektiewe sportprogramme vir skole ontwikkel word.

Roux wil saam met die gemeenskap werk en ‘n goeie bydrae lewer om ‘n uitstekende Letaba Expo aan te bied.

Haar visie is dat die geleentheid elke jaar groter en beter sal wees. Sy wil meer plaaslike produkte op die skou sien en die landbou-sektor meer betrokke kry.

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Maart 2013

Loonverhogings: Só lyk die werklike impak

Die Voorsitter van TLUSA Noord, mnr Stephen Hoffman, het moeite gedoen om boere se penarie vir lesers (voedselverbruikers) met die werklike impak van die minimum loonaanpassing te probeer verduidelik , asook om die twyfelagtige werkwyse van die regering te probeer uitwys.

Direkte uitwerking op die boer/produsent Lone word met 51,32% eenmalig verhoog.

Arbeid maak tans tipies 30% van ‘n boerdery se kostestruktuur uit. ‘n Redelik breë veralgemening impliseer dan dat die totale jaarlikse koste van ‘n klein eenheid R14 736 x 10/3 x 12 = R589 440 sal wees. Die verhoging in koste weens die nuwe loon sal 12 x R7 537 = R90 444, oftewel 15% van totale koste beloop.

Die effek hiervan is gelykstaande aan of groter as die winsmarge van die meeste boerderye!

Dit het die potensiaal om landbou te vernietig.

Boere wat dié krisis gaan deursien is die wat suksesvolle aanpassings kan maak om arbeidsgetalle te verminder, en meer meganisasie in hul boerderye in te stel. Geen ondernemer dra die volle risiko vir finansiering, bestuur en bemarking en deel dan sy totale wins aan sy werksmag uit nie!

Ons sal met ander oë na ons arbeidsmag moet begin kyk. In plaas daarvan om hierdie hoë loon aan ongeletterde arbeid met lae produktiwiteit te besteer, raak dit tyd om die aanwending van Afrikaanse jeugdiges uit plakkerskampe in Pretoria te oorweeg. Oordeelkundige selektering en opleiding mag deure oopmaak vir ‘n nuwe formaat arbeidsmag wat die meganisasie op ons plase sal aanvul, met baie beter produktiwiteit as dit waarmee ons tans moet klaarkom.

In die korttermyn wag daar ‘n moeilike en onseker tyd op boere, maar vir diegene wat kan vasbyt en deurdruk sal die son weer skyn.

Effek op die verbruiker Die effek sal waarskynklik eerste op die pryse van wintergroente waargeneem word.

Dis kontantgewasse met ‘n kort siklus en die effek van voorsieningstekorte weens die besluit om sekere gewasse nie aan te plant nie word vinnig deur die verbruiker gevoel. Mettertyd behoort die aanbod weer te stabilisee,r namate produkpryse verhoog. Produsente sal weer begin plant as die verhoogde produkprys vergoed vir die verhoogde arbeidskoste om die gewas te produseer.

Hierdie konsertina effek van tekorte op aanbod en aanvraag sal voortduur, totdat daar weer balans tussen produkprys en produksiekoste kom. Iemand moet die verhoogde produksiekoste finansier en ongelukkig is dit die verbruiker — dus kos gaan baie duurder word!

Regering se motiewe Die motiewe is redelik duister vir die oningeligte, maar as mens mooi kyk skemer daar ‘n paar dinge deur.

Waarom ‘n klein gemeenskap binne ‘n sub-streek uitsonder vir swak betaling, terwyl die lone binne die raamwerk van wetgewing betaal word? Waarom boerderye uitsonder wat nie werklik deel is van georganiseerde landbou nie?

Waarom verskyn die minister van landbou midde-in die onrus en spreek SA se boere aan om hul werkers hoër lone te betaal?

Waarom word kospakkies aan stakende werkers uitgedeel, aangekoop met belastinggeld? Watter instansies het die vermoë om onrus op so ‘n skaal te finansier?

Daar is ongelukkig net een wat antwoorde kan verskaf op al dié vrae, naamlik die regering van die dag! Dis duidelik ‘n poging om stemme te wen vir die komende verkiesing, terwyl interne verdeeldheid die regerende party se steun begin erodeer. Dit ondersteun die doelwitte van die Groenskrif op Herverdeling van Grond deurdat dit boere letterlik ekonomies van hul grond af probeer dwing.

Die oproer probeer boere uitbeeld as uitbuiters van gekleurde werkers terwyl die hele grondeiseproses weer van voor af oopgestel word. Dit skep die klimaat

vir die regverdiging van grondroof, soos die ANC-regering dit tans in wetgewing probeer vaslê.

Die boere staan tussen die regering en sy doelwit om alle grond te nasionaliseer.

Voedselsekerheid is skynbaar nie belangrik nie. Dit is grotendeels ondergeskik aan die magsug van die huidige politieke beste,l wat grond wil gebruik om sy ondersteuners te beloon (presies soos Zimbabwe dit gedoen het).

Met hierdie loonsverhoging demonstreer die regerende party weereens sy minagting vir die vryemarkstelsel en sy traak-my-nie-agtigheid vir die gevolge van sulke ondeurdagte besluitneming op die res van die bevolking.

Dis vir hom maar net nog ‘n stap na die voltooiing van die rewolusie met die Vryheidsmanifes as enigste handleiding, sê Hoffman.

Daaglikse / Maandelikse / Jaarlikse impak Hiermee ‘n rowwe berekening in ‘n poging om te illustreer hoe ‘n klein boerdery finansieel geraak sal word:

Klein Boerdery met 10 arbeiders

Huidige lone | R69.39 per dag Huidige Lone Per dag x 10 arbeiders R 693.90

Huidige Lone Per maand x 10 arbeiders R 14 736

Nuwe lone Per maand x 10 arbeiders R 22 300

Nuwe lone | R105 per dag

Huidige Lone Jaarliks

Nuwe lone Jaarliks

Jaarlikse Verskil

R 176 832

R 267 600

-R 90 768

Medium Boerdery met 20 arbeiders

Huidige lone | R69.39 per dag Huidige Lone Per dag x 20 arbeiders R 1 387.80

Huidige Lone Per maand x 20 arbeiders R 29 472

Nuwe lone Per maand x 20 arbeiders R 44 600

Nuwe lone | R105 per dag

Huidige Lone Jaarliks

Nuwe lone Jaarliks

Jaarlikse Verskil

R 353 664

R 535 200

-R 181 536

Groot Boerdery met 100 arbeiders

Huidige lone | R69.39 per dag Huidige Lone Per dag x 100 arbeiders R 6 939.00

Huidige Lone Per maand x 100 arbeiders R 147 360

Nuwe lone Per maand x 100 arbeiders R 223 000

Nuwe lone | R105 per dag

Huidige Lone Jaarliks

Nuwe lone Jaarliks

Jaarlikse Verskil

R 1 768 320

R 2 676 000

-R 907 680

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Maart 2013

Sustainability of land claims

Martina Jege The deputy minister of rural development and land reform, Mr Lechesa Tsenoli, hosted mayors and traditional leaders of the Mopani district at Fairview lodge, to tackle issues of land reform and community development in the district. The Limpopo MEC of agriculture, Mr Jacob Marule, and members of the Limpopo legislature portfolio committees also formed part of the meeting. Also attending the meeting were the Greater Giyani Municipality mayor Mr Pat Hlongwane, GTM mayor Ms Dikeledi Mmetle, Moruleng Municipality mayor Mr Pule Mafologele and the deputy minister of rural development and land reform, Mr Lechesa Tsenoli.

Limpopo-IDC / Nguni cattle development project expands The Limpopo department of agriculture (LDA) partnering with the Industrial Development Cooperation (IDC) and the University of Limpopo (UL) is again inviting potential cattle farmers to apply and be empowered with this unique programme that started way back in 2006.

The objective of the Trust is to upgrade cattle farming in the rural areas of Limpopo through the reintroduction of the indigenous Nguni cattle bloodline, and the creation of a community of emerging beef production farmers.

Since its introduction in 2006, more than 44 projects have benefited and about 1 500 Nguni cattle have been loaned out to farmers. The head count has so far grown to about 8 500 and the farmers have made not less than R2 million in profits.

Eligible farmers who will be lent cattle for a period of five years should at the end of the period return the same or an equivalent amount of money. These should be those who: • Are interested in farming, especially Nguni cattle breeding • Own a farm suitable and equipped for cattle farming or have long term lease in state owned farms.

• Display entrepreneurial abilities and cattle management skills.

Unfortunately communal farming is not eligible, but the department is negotiating with traditional leaders that they offer to potential farmers, long leases on their land, especially in a cooperative format, so that ‘our’ people could be empowered. Eligible applicants should have a valid SA ID, proof of farm ownership or lease, short description of the farm and utilisation history and their brief CV. Applications should be directed to the Chairperson; Limpopo IDC-Nguni Cattle Development Trust, University of Limpopo (Turfloop Campus).

For more information: Mr Kenny Mathivha 082 450 1331 or 015 2943190

Vuur en vlam vir Letaba Expo RethaNel Die jaarlikse Letaba Expo, wat volgens tradisie net voor en oor die eerste naweek in Augustus in Tzaneen gehou word, beloof om vanjaar iets besonders te wees. Met me Corrie Labuschagne aan die stuur van sake en die splinternuwe AgriLetaba-sekretaresse, me Naomi Roux as haar regterhand, gaan daar heelwat veranderings wees.

Daar is planne om die Donderdag, die openingsdag, ‘n optog van boere deur die dorp te hou. AgriLetaba en die expo-komitee gaan probeer om soveel moontlik trekkers en sleepwaens en plaastoerusting bymekaar te kry, vir die optog.

Die expo word deur AgriLetaba beskou as die landbou se vertoonvenster aan die gemeenskap en hulle wil graag die boere in die gemeenskap meer betrokke kry.

Daar gaan vanjaar nie weer

‘n boeredag op die Woensdag voor die openingsdag gehou word nie. Bywoning het die afgelope paar jaar skerp gedaal en daar is besluit om die boeredag se aktiwiteite met die res van die skou te integreer. Die potjiekoskompetisie word vir Donderdag beplan, maar daar word nog besluit of dit, soos in die verlede, slegs vir boereverenigings gaan wees en of ‘n paar besighede in die Agrisektor ook genooi gaan word.

Benewens die potjiekoskompetisie het Agri Letaba ook elke jaar ‘n kraampie naby die verste ingangshek.

Boereverenigings maak beurte om die stalletjie te behartig en landbouprodukte van die omgewing aan die gemeenskap bekend te stel.

Die Tzaneen Boerevereniging is weer, nes verlede jaar, aan die beurt en sal sorg dat daar hope vrugte en groente te koop is.

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Maart 2013

Artificial insemination to help boost reproduction in rural cattle farming

Cattle waiting to be inseminated at Muyexe village

Orlando Chauke Cattle farmers of Muyexe outside Giyani are keen to increase their number of cattle after the Limpopo department of agriculture had teamed up with Agricultural Research Council (ARC) and embarked on a project called Assistance Reproduction Technology.

The project aimed at boosting the poor reproduction of calves among the cattle in the communal areas, by means of inseminating

Nguni sperms. This would ensure that the cows produce bulls with genes that are said to be more tolerant to draught and faster in reproduction.

Prof Lucky Nedambale, the programme manager from the ARC, said the initiative will also help in the case of stock theft, since they were also profiling DNA samples of the cattle which would be stored according to the owner’s name and the village.

Hosi Muyexe [Ben Maluleke] and some of the cattle farmers (Mamayila Chavalala, Magezi Baloyi, Sara Baloyi and Hlengani Maluleke and at the back prof Lucky Nedambale from the ARC, dr Veronica Letsoalo (vet) and dr Khathutshelo Nephawe, the science manager from the department of agriculture), are seen here at the insemination gathering.

7

Maart 2013 It is estimated that as many as hundred elephants per day are being poached in Africa.

In Tanzania alone, this figute is estimated at 67 per day. A few examples of this renewed onslaught on elephants are: • In January last year, militia gunned down more than 300 elephants in a national park in Cameroon.

• In March 22 elephants in Garamba National Park, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), were slaughtered in a single attack, probably from an Ugandan helicopter.

• In December last year, an

The fate of African elephants will be high on the agenda of the March meeting of CITES in Bangkok. It is expected that there will be strong divisions between delegates who support sustained ivory trade and those who opt for a complete trade ban.

“We must break the deadlock and find consensus, rather than division. There is cause for common ground in a new conservation paradigm that recognises that the current demand for ivory exceeds the possible supply of elephants, and that demand needs to be reduced if elephants are to survive,” says Iain Douglas-Hamilton, founder and CEO of Save the Elephants, in SWARA, the magazine of the East African Wildlife Society. Meanwhile, the future of elephants in Africa is becoming bleaker

illegal shipment of six tons of poached ivory was seized in Malaysia.

• Over the last decade a national park in Chad has lost 90% of its elephants. • Three adult elephants were killed in a study area in Kenya.

• Littered around the same valley were at least twenty more fresh carcasses. This wellmonitored elephant population has suffered higher levels of illegal killing in 2012 than in any other year on record.

by the day — there are fewer elephants than in the heyday of elephant slaughtering in the 1970’s and 1980’s — and the demand is much higher.

Record ivory prices in the Far East are fuelling poachers, organised crime and political instability right across the African elephant range.

“Over the past few years wildlife trafficking has become more organised, more lucrative, more widespread, and more dangerous than ever before,” former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned.

The situation has become an issue of both national and economic security for nations across Africa, she added. CITES research reveals that the high levels of illegal killing in central Africa have spread to East Africa and the northern parts of southern

CITES AGENDA: The fate of the African Eliphant

Africa. Only three large populations — Kruger in South Africa, Chobe in Botswana, and Etosha in Namibia — have remained unscathed.

With the central reserve of elephants gone, the rising demand for ivory can only be provided by poachers turning to the remaining populations in East and southern Africa. The deep south of southern Africa — Botswana, Namibia and South Africa itself —has long escaped the poaching problem, thanks to the region’s relative wealth Gabon, which was home to Africa’s largest elephant population of 44 000, has lost 11 100 elephants since 2004, between 44% and 77% of the present population, while the Democratic Republic of the Congo is also in danger of losing its total elephant population.

Elephant populations are being decimated to the point that the survival of the species in Central Africa is now in question. “The situation is out of control. We are witnessing the systematic slaughter of the world’s largest land mammal,” says Mr Bas Huijbregts, head of the Central African strand of WWF’s global campaign against illegal wildlife trade.

“Some reports lead the world to believe that the ivory war has moved from the Central Africa region to other parts

and well-financed wildlife departments. Elephant populations here are still the most secure, but with ivory now an established commodity for organised crime that may change and reports of substantial ivory poaching are beginning to come from Botswana. Most of the illegal ivory seized in large-scale shipments in the past three years originated in Kenya and Tanzania.

A worrying new trend is

the hacking of the genitals and nipples of slain elephants soon after death. It is ascribed to witchcraft or strange culinary tastes.

The twenty years after the 1989 ivory trade ban were accompanied by recovery of elephant populations, particularly in East Africa. Thanks to the ban and widespread outrage in the media, ivory became unfashionable, and almost all the key populations in the region recovered

The Central African threat of the continent. This is wrong. What has changed is that these criminals are now also attacking the better protected elephant herds in Eastern and Southern Africa.”

Fiona Maisels, a conservation scientist at WCS, who has been analyzing the survey data, said that the data pointed to a regional crisis.

“The (Gabon) Minkébé data are representative of trends across all remaining forest elephant strongholds in the region, not to speak of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is believed to hold 7 000 to 10 000 elephants, or less than ten per cent of its population twenty years ago,” Gabon, Maisels explained, represents

only about 13% of the forests of Central Africa, but is home to over half of Africa’s forest elephants. The Minkébé National Park, in turn, is home to Gabon’s biggest elephant population and to probably the largest forest elephant population in Africa. At least until these data came out,” she said.

Over in in the Central African Republic (CAR)— which in the mid 1980’s held up to 80 000 elephants — poachers are taking advantage of the political instability to wipe out the country’s remaining elephants.

Although solutions to effectively address the poaching crisis in the region are varied, what can be concluded is clear: left unaddressed, Central Africa’s

from the excessive illegal killing of the former epoch.

Fact is, the current level of killing is unsustainable. If it continues unchecked, most of Africa’s wild elephants will be lost.

Tanzania has withdrawn its proposal to sell its ivory, the only one that was on the table, for the March CITES conference.

That potential source of income for countries that desperately need money for elephant conservation has been nipped in the bud. While Hamilton admits that “there is a need to explore how to deal with large stockpiles of ivory”, he says: ”They cannot be traded, and ideally should be destroyed, but new money must come to help those countries.” elephants will follow the footstep of their western black and northern white rhinoceroses, both hunted to extinction. “Governments in the region such as Cameroon, Chad and Gabon are recruiting more rangers and send their armies to fight these poachers. But that is not enough,” Huijbregts says. Huijbregts explained that to effectively put an end to the poaching crisis, countries in in East Asia would need to address their exploding demand for ivory, which is resulting in record prices.

“Unless the governments of the region and demand countries treat this issue as an international emergency we cannot rule out that, in our lifetime, there will no longer be any viable elephant populations in Central Africa,” Huijbregts said.

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Maart 2013

Trimcut: a pruning leader Trimcut was founded in January 2009

by Mr Tommie Schoeman. They started small with just one Allcut type machine and has since grown into a competitive pruning company, with a fleet of various types of locally built and imported pruning machinery.

Trimcut has the TOL Inc. agency to distribute mechanical pruners as well as hand-pruning equipment, built and manufactured in Israel, in SubSaharan Africa. Their range of equipment will sort all pruning needs, from skirting, topping, hedging and handpruning. Hand-pruning is done with hydraulically driven chainsaws and loppers from a pruning platform (which can also be used for picking).

“Trimcut has built up great experience, working with large companies such as Farmsecure, Afrifresh, Groep 91 and Noordgrens. We work far afield and have had contracts as far as Eshowe, Weenen, Ponddrift and Marble Hall. We also sharpen and maintain saw and chipper blades,” says Schoeman. Trimcut has sourced and is importing the best pruning equipment and practices in the world, from countries such as California, Florida, Israel and Australia. They can assist and advise on pruning practices to minimize costs and maximize profits.

“It is ever so important to rejuvenate orchards for maximum yield and quality”, says Schoeman.