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DFFE Minister Barbara Creecy (centre) and Deputy Minister Makhotso Sotyu (left) hand over the signed Community Forestry Agreement to Inkosi Silinga. The Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Barbara Creecy, and Deputy Minister Makhotso Sotyu, handed over the management of three plantations to Eastern Cape communities at a function held at Butterworth in April. The plantations – Mission (79 ha Eucalyptus), Nqamakwe (160 ha Eucalyptus, 35 ha wattle) and Mgomanzi (105 ha Eucalyptus) – were handed over to the Tobotshane, Amahlubi and Amazizi traditional councils following the signi ..read more

Sappi’s lignin-based Pelletin product is a key ingredient of animal feeds. Lignin, a major component of wood and an abundant organic polymer, provides a multitude of functions especially in the industrial and agricultural sectors. Sourced from the wood pulping process as a side stream, Sappi SA uses it to produce Pelletin, a lignin-based additive in animal feed manufacturing. Pelletin, which is produced at Sappi’s Tugela Mill, is used in the preparation of animal feeds as a binding agent that replaces oil-based binders. Sappi has recently achieved GMP+ Feed Safety Assurance certification for ..read more

Noxolo Ndlovu … her PhD study measures the residue from pesticide applications in forestry on soil, water and sediment. (Photo courtesy FSA). A ground-breaking study undertaken in the KZN midlands shows that pesticides commonly used in South African plantation forests pose low or minimal risk of impacting negatively on the environment, but there are some red flags worth noting. This is mostly good news for growers who are restricted in terms of the number of pesticides approved for use, and are under increasing pressure from certification bodies, environmentalists and consumers, to minimise us ..read more

CMO International, a diverse forestry company founded in South Africa, is making waves internationally by successfully achieving FSC chain of custody certification for 56 smallholder rubber tree farmers in the Sabah district of Malaysia. This is the first time that smallholder rubber farmers in Malaysia have achieved FSC certification which ensures their products comply with the European Union Deforestation-free regulations as well as other similar policies and market requirements around the world. The successful outcome of this project was made possible with extensive collaboration between F ..read more

A National Minimum Wage of R27.58 per hour – effective from 1st March 2024 - has been announced by the Minister of Employment and Labour, Thulas Nxesi. This represents a CPI + 3% increase in minimum wage, and follows a CPI + 2% increase in 2023. This minimum wage applies to all workers in South Africa across all economic sectors – including farm/forestry workers as well as domestic workers. The 2024 Minimum Wage means that workers in South Africa will be paid R 220.64 for a normal eight-hour day, and R 1 103.20 for a 40-hour week. The only exceptions are:- • Workers employed on Expanded Publi ..read more

This is how parts of the Pietermaritzburg city plantation looks like today, where Illegal dumping and timber theft is rife. The forests that surround Pietermaritzburg should be – could be – one of the city’s finest assets. If well managed they can yield a sustainable annual harvest of some 25 000 tons of timber and bark, provide visitors and residents with endless recreational opportunities for hiking, mountain biking, trail running and bird watching, while providing free ecological services in the form of fresh, clean water from the numerous streams that run through it. Instead, over the past ..read more

Sappi plantations in KwaZulu-Natal. The Supreme Court of Appeal has awarded in FSA’s favour unanimously and with costs, on the important matter of existing lawful water use! This confirms FSA’s long-held position that all plantations that were in existence at the time of the introduction of the National Water Act in 1998, are deemed to be an existing lawful water user, irrespective of whether they were previously authorised under pre-1998 legislation. It also means that those rights cannot arbitrarily be withdrawn or expropriated by the State. In further good news the Supreme Court upheld the ..read more

Bell Equipment’s new CEO, Ashley Bell. Bell Equipment has appointed Ashley Jon Bell (41), grandson of the company's founder Irvine Bell, as the new Group Chief Executive Officer effective from 1 January 2024. This follows the resignation in July of the outgoing Group CEO, Leon Goosen, who leaves the company after 16 years of service, five and a half spent as Group CEO. Ashley is well acquainted with the company having served as a non-executive director on the Board since 2015 and has provided valuable input as a member of the Board’s Risk and Sustainability and Social, Ethics, and Transformati ..read more

Simon Shackleton (left) of John Deere provides insight into the impressive JD eight-wheeled harvester that was on show at the field day. Operating the harvester for the demo was CMO’s mechanised harvesting instructor Gilbert Khumalo. New forestry equipment, strategies & insights The big international forestry brands plus local equipment manufacturers and service providers as well as mulchers, chippers and grinders made their presence felt at the Focus on Forestry 2023 event held in the picturesque KZN midlands in early November. Against the backdrop of the magnificent Karkloof mountains an ..read more