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Fertiliser News

Agriculture continues to outperform nearly all other sectors of South Africa’s economy

By: Rebecca Campbell 1st April 2022 Over the past two years the agriculture sector has been one of the few very stars in the firmament of the South African economy. In 2020 and 2021, agriculture was one of only four sectors of the economy to register growth, the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP) has pointed out. Last... →

Competition Commission launches fresh produce market inquiry

By: Schalk Burger 28th March 2022 The Competition Commission has launched a public market inquiry into the fresh produce market to examine whether there are any features in its value chain which lessen, prevent or distort competitiveness. The terms of reference of the Fresh Produce Market Inquiry were published in the Government... →

Nigerian billionaire Dangote launches $2.5-billion fertilizer plant as prices soar

By: Reuters 22nd March 2022 Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote opened a three-million-tonne fertiliser plant at a cost of $2.5-billion on Tuesday to target African and foreign markets even as the war in Ukraine has driven up prices for natural gas, a key ingredient for making urea. Dangote said exports from the plant will... →

Transport infrastructure key to African economic growth

By: Darren Parker 29th October 2021 Improved transport infrastructure in Africa would contribute significantly to unlocking the continent’s economic potential, says diversified chemicals group Omnia Holdings group CEO Seelan Gobalsamy. He says there is considerable agricultural potential in East Africa, which exports products... →

Biogas engines supplied to ethanol producer

15th October 2021 Multinational gas and diesel power plant specialist Clarke Energy has secured the sale of two of gas engine manufacturer Innio Jenbacher’s biogas engines to ethanol distiller PressCane Limited, based in Chikhwawa, Malawi. The ethanol production site generates biofuel in the form of ethanol, which... →

Company establishes green rare earth fluoride manufacturing plant based on Necsa intellectual property

By: Donna Slater 14th October 2021 Over the past two years, Pretoria-based rare earth (RE) minerals refinery Rare Earth Refiners (RER) has designed, built and commissioned a demonstration plant for the green production of RE fluorides using a R15-million grant from the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA). REs, and especially... →

An image of the rare earth fluoride production machine based on intellectual property developed by the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation

The rare earth fluoride production machine based on intellectual property developed by the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation

Solutions manage water scarcity challenges

By: Nadine Ramdass 7th May 2021 With the agriculture sector heavily relying on water to ensure that it can continue to function, more strategies have to be adopted and solutions applied to manage the effects of water-related challenges in the industry. “Water will need to be looked at differently, especially since agriculture... →

Chetan Mistry Water sustainability needs to be prioritised

Additives increase livestock health, farm profits

By: Nadine Ramdass 7th May 2021 Manufacturing and minerals producer Pratley’s clinoptilolite-based livestock feed additives, Clinomix and Clinoxin, can increase the health of livestock, resulting in increased cost savings and profit for farmers. Clinoptilolite is a type of zeolite, which, in turn, is a crystalline aluminium... →

ELDON KRUGER
Farmers are realising the additives benefits

Pratley marketing manager Eldon Kruger discusses its new feedstock additives.

Biogas holds great power generation potential

By: Halima Frost 19th March 2021 South Africa has the potential to generate upwards of 10 000 MW of power if it were to harness and capitalise on all biogas opportunities, however, the greatest challenge is not a lack of capacity but more the lack of market opportunity, says Southern African Biogas Industry Association (Sabia)... →

POWER-TENTIAL Biogas has the potential to contribute significantly to the power mix in South Africa and globally

Omnia intends to sell Oro Agri business

By: Marleny Arnoldi 19th October 2020 JSE-listed chemicals group Omnia Holdings has reached an agreement to sell its Oro Agri business to Rovensa – a European-based business that procures and distributes biocontrol, bionutrition and crop protection solutions. Omnia in June received a nonbinding offer for the business, which... →

Omnia CEO Seelan Gobalsamy

Fair Cape brings in bees to pollinate canola on cattle farm

By: Marleny Arnoldi 1st October 2020 Commercial dairy brand Fair Cape Dairies has introduced 21-million African Honey Bees on canola crops at its Welgegund cattle farm in the Western Cape. The canola is grown as part of the farm’s crop rotation, which is known to help improve soil health, optimise nutrients in the soil and combat... →

Canola at Fair Cape Dairies' Welgegund farm

Offering diversified with new crop input solution

By: Tracy Hancock 7th August 2020 Environmental management company I-CAT will soon launch agricultural and forestry input solution Cyflo, as part of its product offering, targeting existing and potential clients, says I-CAT Planting Business Unit head Rachelle Botha. The product was developed by diagnostic agronomist Charl Marais... →

ENHANCED EFFECT Cyflo effects cellular permeability of agricultural remedies and fertilisers, and significantly improves their efficacy

‘Soil conditioner’ production keeps manufacturer bustling

By: Tracy Hancock 7th August 2020 The processing facility of manufacturer and minerals producer Pratley has been significantly busy producing Pratley Vulture Creek Clino during the national lockdown to curb the spread of Covid-19, as the product is mainly supplied to the agriculture sector and, therefore, classified as essential,... →

PRODUCTIVE PROPERTIES More farmers are experiencing improved crop yields when using Vulture Creek Clino, owing to its cation-exchange and slow-release fertiliser properties

Danakali bullish about sulphate of potash demand growth beyond Covid-19

By: Marleny Arnoldi 15th June 2020 ASX- and LSE-listed Danakali is cautiously optimistic about the food markets globally, despite uncertainty owing to Covid-19, and thanks to the sector’s resilience to the crisis. CEO Niels Wage tells Mining Weekly that global food production prospects are positive, stocks are high,... →

Danakali CEO Niels Wage discusses sulphate of potash market prospects and the Colluli project

Circular economy offers many benefits

By: Mc'Kyla Nortje 12th June 2020 The move towards a circular economy model away from the traditional linear approach can assist companies in reducing carbon emissions and other environmental impacts associated with their operations, says sustainability consulting firm The Green House director Brett Cohen. “A circular economy... →

BRETT COHEN A circular economy will, amongst other benefits, reduce the amount of raw material used and incorporate more recycled and reused products

Uralkali commits support for African farmer aid initiative

By: Marleny Arnoldi 8th June 2020 Russian potash mining company Uralkali has joined the Action Africa: Thriving Farms, Thriving Future initiative that is funded by Norwegian fertiliser producer Yara. The initiative is backed by the United Nations World Food Programme and is supported by a number of African industry associations... →

Good agricultural sales expected post lockdown

By: Darren Parker 1st May 2020 The outbreak of Covid-19 and the consequent initial 21-day national lockdown in South Africa, which has since been extended by two weeks, caused a slowdown in sales for almost every sector in South Africa, including the agricultural sector. Despite the lull, Pratley marketing director Eldon... →

DON’T BLOW A GASKET The new room temperature vulcanising silicone gasket maker compound is temperature resistant from -50 ºC to 300 ºC for short periods

Covid-19 lockdowns, rand depreciation set to accelerate food inflation

By: Rebecca Campbell 24th April 2020 The Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP) has, in its latest brief report Food price outlook for Quarter 2 2020 and beyond, warned that food prices in South Africa are set to rise during this, second, quarter of the year. The country’s staple foods – maize, wheat and rice – would not be... →

Half of South Africans in a ‘precarious nutrition situation’

By: Rebecca Campbell 10th April 2020 Independent research body the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP) has warned that poorer households in South Africa would be put at risk, in terms of both their nutrition and health, if they suffer a fall in their income or an increase in food prices, as a result of measures put in... →

South African production of key foods good to reasonable

By: Rebecca Campbell 10th April 2020 An independent research centre, the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP), has published an overview of five key foods produced in South Africa, as part of its analysis of the food and agricultural aspects of the Covid-19 pandemic crisis. The foods are chicken (meat), maize (grains),... →

Dangote Nigeria starts test run $2bn fertiliser plant

By: Bloomberg 28th February 2020 Nigeria’s Dangote Group started a test run of a $2-billion fertiliser plant that will make Africa’s most populous country meet all its domestic demand. This followed the completion of critical sections of the plant, including the central control room, the ammonia and urea bulk storage area and... →

South Africa has huge 'green fuels' potential. But it needs to act now

10th January 2020 In this opinion piece, first published in The Conversation, professors David Walwyn and Rod Crompton make the case for South Africa to pay greater research and development attention to the production of green hydrogen using a combination of wind and solar power and electrolysers. In addition,... →

Uganda's Grainpulse set for expansion with IFC support

5th December 2019 The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) will extend an $11-million loan to Ugandan agribusiness company Grainpulse to support its expansion and strengthen its farmer supply chain, increasing food production and economic growth in... →

Omnia seeks to reset course as it emerges from financial distress

By: Terence Creamer 11th October 2019 JSE-listed Omnia, best known for the production of fertilisers, explosives and specialty chemicals, expects a strategic review of the business to be completed during the first quarter of 2020. The outcome of the review could result in the sale of certain product lines or units, as well as the... →

Omnia CEO Seelan Gobalsamy

Foskor board to finalise sustainability plan within six months

By: Terence Creamer 13th August 2019 Foskor chairperson Bobby Godsell reported on Tuesday that the company’s board was conducting a comprehensive review of the group’s underperforming operations with the aim of developing a sustainability plan within the coming six months. Foskor, which mines phosphate rock and magnetite in Limpopo... →

Foskor chairperson Bobby Godsell and IDC CEO TP Nchocho on prospects for turning around the company. Camera Work & Editing: Nicholas Boyd. Recorded: 13.7.2019

Promising research progress on agrimats

By: Darren Parker 9th August 2019 Research is under way on new technology that aims to convert algae and any other biomass waste, such as bagasse, into organic fertiliser mats, or agrimats, Agricultural Research Council (ARC) senior researcher Dr Khumbulani Dhavu tells Engineering News. The agrimats are manufactured by pressing... →

MULCH PROGRESS BEING MADE The agrimats research project is testing the viability of sustainable organic mulch mat production for commercial use

Omnia to restructure as it seeks to reduce overextended balance sheet

By: Schalk Burger 25th June 2019 Diversified chemicals group Omnia will, over the next two years, focus on improving the profit margins of its companies’ services and products, ensuring that its assets and investments deliver value, as well as on pursuing international expansion of intellectual property-based businesses that... →

Biggest Nampo yet boasts 775 stands

By: Halima Frost 10th May 2019 The southern hemisphere’s largest agriculture expo, the Grain SA Nampo Harvest Day, will feature a record-breaking 775 stands, and organiser Grain SA says that all of the stands have now been sold out. The event caters to the South African and Southern Africa farming community and will be held... →

HIGH EXPECTATIONS An aerial view of the continent’s largest agriculture show being held in May

Ma’aden to acquire Phatisa’s controlling shareholding in Meridian Group

By: Marleny Arnoldi 23rd April 2019 Private equity fund manager Phatisa has reached an agreement with mining and metals company Ma’aden on the sale of its controlling shareholding in Meridian Group. Meridian is a prominent African agricultural inputs business, which distributes about 500 000 t/y of fertiliser across Malawi,... →

Egypt seeking to increase trade and investment ties with South Africa

By: Rebecca Campbell 29th March 2019 Egyptian Ambassador to South Africa Sherif Eissa has called for more bilateral trade and investment between his country, as well as closer political cooperation. He was addressing the recent South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI) and Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI) Trade... →

The BioCycle aims to turn human waste into lubricants, biodiesel

By: Irma Venter 18th March 2019 The BioCycle plans to have completed the design of its first South African commercial scale facility by the end of 2020, to be followed by a global rollout of the technology, says MultiCycle director Marc Lewis. The BioCycle aims to develop commercially viable and scalable processes for the... →

Egyptian business giving great importance to South Africa

By: Rebecca Campbell 15th March 2019 The Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI) was in full support of the policy of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to strengthen the country’s relations with the rest of Africa. “As a business community, we will endorse our Government’s role in Africa,” affirmed FEI African Cooperation... →

Photo by Egyptian Petrochemical Company
An Egyptian petrochemical plant

Packaging company drives waste-free economy

By: Halima Frost 1st March 2019 The idea of a circular economy is now starting to pique interest in the packaging industry, although the mechanism of biodegradability has been operational for hundreds of millions of years, says GREEN HOME Food Packaging MD and owner Catherine Morris. The concept highlights the way in which the... →

CATHERINE MORRIS A waste-free world is a possibility for the future

First institutional anaerobic digester launched at NPO’s Johannesburg premises

By: Simone Liedtke 28th November 2018 To promote renewable energy as a cost-effective technology in a world facing the impact of climate change and global warming, the University of South Africa, diversified miner Exxaro Resources and the South African National Energy Development Institution on Wednesday launched its first... →

The University of South Africa, Exxaro Resources and the South African National Energy Development Institution on Wednesday launched its first institutional anaerobic digester at nonprofit organisation EARTH Centre’s premises, in Johannesburg

Photo by Simone Liedtke
The University of South Africa, Exxaro Resources and the South African National Energy Development Institution on Wednesday launched its first institutional anaerobic digester at nonprofit organisation EARTH Centre’s premises, in Johannesburg

Omnia sees R695m nitrophosphate investment as fertiliser ‘game changer’

By: Terence Creamer 27th November 2018 Diversified chemicals group Omnia says its innovative nitrophosphate plant under construction in Sasolburg will materially improve the company’s overall competitiveness in the production of fertilisers, despite an upward revision to the project’s capital cost. Omnia reported on Tuesday that the... →

Omnia's nitrophosphate plant under construction

UCT growing bricks of any shape from urine

By: Schalk Burger 23rd November 2018 The University of Cape Town (UCT) Civil Engineering Department has developed a process to grow bricks that can be any shape using sand, bacteria and human urine. The bricks are made of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) – the same substance as limestone, coral reefs, egg- and seashells – and sand cemented... →

GROWING BRICKS Sand, bacteria, fertiliser and urine produce calcium carbonate bricks in any shape

Prototype soil sampling device being tested for use in agriculture

By: Schalk Burger 26th October 2018 A cost-effective, handheld soil and water chemical testing device for use in agriculture is being developed and tested by information technology research subsidiary IBM Research, says IBM Research Brazil Industrial Technology & Science manager Dr Mathias Steiner. The AgroPad is a business... →

AGROPAD SCAN Farmers can gain meaningful information to optimise conditions to grow a specific crop

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