The veld fire season in the Free State has so far not claimed a life, nor caused any human injuries. The spokesperson for the Provincial Disaster Management Centre in the Free State, Markes Butler, is hopeful that it will stay this way till the end of the season. He urges communities to play their part in not starting any veld fires and to help in the “integrated fire management” approach that the team has adopted. Butler explains that the approach means everyone is involved in the fight against veld fires.

Poor service delivery is impacting South African farmers negatively. This is according to Dr Pieter Oberem, Managing Director of animal health company Afrivet. He says farmers are increasingly being left to their own devices and with very little government support despite paying taxes. Janine Ryan, editor of Farmer's Weekly, adds that Oberem says while farmers were paying taxes for roads, electricity and medical services, they still have to take it upon themselves to fix roads and pay for private services.

Young farmers in the Free State are set to receive support from the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. The department has launched a programme called Proactive Land Acquisition, with the aim to assist young farmers with land and the processes that must be followed to acquire it. OFM News' correspondent, Lee Simmons, reports the announcement was made at a young farmer’s dialogue hosted by the department on a farm in Viljoenskroon.

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The rate of unemployment has decreased in the first quarter of 2022, according to StatsSA. However, the Value Chain Analytics from the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP), Louw Pienaar, has revealed that the agricultural sector did not play a big part in providing job creation in the first quarter. This could be because agricultural jobs are highly seasonal – the sector is not favoured by this season. Over 800 000 jobs in the sector were provided in the first quarter of 2022, which is 6.5% higher than in 2021.

OFM News