Senior Democratic Alliance officials are backing Western Cape agriculture MEC Ivan Meyer to replace the party leader as agriculture minister after its April federal congress

Lesufi’s remark about resorting to hotel showers during water shortages was not an isolated lapse of judgment but a revealing window into this broader political environment

Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen said much of the progress made ‘bears the unmistakable imprint of the DA’s principled participation’ in the government of national unity

The president announced a mass vaccination drive of the country’s entire cattle herd as the government moves to limit economic damage, export bans and further losses to farmers

The Democratic Alliance federal chair says she has been communicating with the party leader on WhatsApp

Agriculture department rejects calls of a ‘vaccine free-for-all’ and says there must be state-led control of vaccination process while farmers battle ongoing outbreaks

However, commercial farmers say that vaccine shortages and slow implementation are worsening a devastating crisis

Officials said South Africa’s phytosanitary and biosecurity requirements are world class and the department is awaiting bilateral trade agreements to be resolved to begin exports of beef

South Africa’s food inflation rose to 4.4% in May but this is expected to be temporary

Frequent outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease, avian influenza and African swine fever suggest weakness in biosecurity controls and the effect of climate change

Empowering small-scale dairy farmers across the rural-urban divide is the way forward

South Africa must remain vigilant to prevent outbreaks which are costly to farmers and harm the export market