Gov’t sticks to its guns on veggie import ban

The cream of South Africa’s farming industry met on Thursday in Pretoria discussing challenges affecting the industry. While not appearing on the agenda and not mentioned officially by the speakers, the matter of the ban on certain horticultural products by Botswana was expected to feature in informal discussions at Agri SA’s congress.

Agri SA, that country’s largest and oldest farmers’ organisation, has been outspoken about the impact of the ban on its members. This week’s congress provided farmers with an opportunity to meet President Cyril Ramaphosa and his agric minister, Thoko Didiza, to pile more pressure on prying the borders open.