Russian war in world’s ‘breadbasket’ threatens food supply

[Jet-Fighter7700]

Imagine if the SA government used this crisis as a way to bolster the agricultural industry in SA. Some helpful things they could do:
1) Stop the attacks on property rights.
2) Get rid of closed shop union agreements and ban strikes that are not approved under a secret ballot.
3) Introduce a reformed version of the commandos that combines police, private security and civilian units into a competent rural security unit.

Then use our influence in Zimbabwe to get Zimbabwe to do the same sorts of pro-market reforms for them. Within a few years both SA and Zimbabwe would be major food exporters leaving the Ruskies in the cold.

pie in the sky idea, we all know the ANC and Zanu PF are 2 peas in a pod,
racist idiots who love to enrich themselves and cause chaos

 

[Lupus]

Imagine if the SA government used this crisis as a way to bolster the agricultural industry in SA. Some helpful things they could do:
1) Stop the attacks on property rights.
2) Get rid of closed shop union agreements and ban strikes that are not approved under a secret ballot.
3) Introduce a reformed version of the commandos that combines police, private security and civilian units into a competent rural security unit.

Then use our influence in Zimbabwe to get Zimbabwe to do the same sorts of pro-market reforms for them. Within a few years both SA and Zimbabwe would be major food exporters leaving the Ruskies in the cold.

Africa don't play that way.

 

[konfab]

pie in the sky idea, we all know the ANC and Zanu PF are 2 peas in a pod,
racist idiots who love to enrich themselves and cause chaos

I know. Communists would rather starve people than admit their ideology is broken.

 

[Jet-Fighter7700]

I know. Communists would rather starve people than admit their ideology is broken.

wait till SA gets invaded because the Russians set up shop in SA.

 

[BBSA]

I have a lot of respect for Brazil, although they are part of the BRICS, they still voted against evil.

 

[konfab]

wait till SA gets invaded because the Russians set up shop in SA.

I for one would welcome our new US overlords.

 

[SeRpEnT]

Imagine if the SA government used this crisis as a way to bolster the agricultural industry in SA. Some helpful things they could do:
1) Stop the attacks on property rights.
2) Get rid of closed shop union agreements and ban strikes that are not approved under a secret ballot.
3) Introduce a reformed version of the commandos that combines police, private security and civilian units into a competent rural security unit.

Then use our influence in Zimbabwe to get Zimbabwe to do the same sorts of pro-market reforms for them. Within a few years both SA and Zimbabwe would be major food exporters leaving the Ruskies in the cold.

Trust ANC to do the opposite of what one expects.
Jan van Riebeeck n'all you know...

 

[Oldfut]

I know. African Communists would rather steal and let people starve people (than admit their ideology is broken).

Slightly edited.

 

[rambo919]

A communist and his friend get into a light conversation:
Friend asks comrade..... if you has two houses and I needed one, would you give me a house?
Comrade says yes of course

Friend asks comrade.... if you had two cars and I needed one, would you give me a car?
Comrade says yes of course

Friend asks comrade.... if you had two shirts and I needed one, would you give me a shirt?
Comrade gets really angry and sucker punches his friend.

A bystander overhearing and then witnessing all this asks the angry comrade why he punched his friend?
Comrade says.... I actually have two shirts, he was angling to expropriate one without compensation.

 

[Johnatan56]

Thanks to covid the pollution is gone.

No it's not, most of the groundwater in China is unusable.

 

[Wut]

No it's not, most of the groundwater in China is unusable.

Oh, no... Does that mean I shouldn't eat the jujubes and longans I bought yesterday?

On a side note, I reckon SA groundwater is some of the worst in the world due to mining, factory waste and now sewerage which has impacted almost every water source throughout the country.

 

[RonSwanson]

Also worth a read

Ukraine war 'catastrophic for global food'

One of the world's biggest fertiliser firms says the conflict could deliver a shock to food supplies.

www.bbc.com

Fertiliser? Is that the stuff that they blew Beirut up with?

Beirut explosion reportedly caused by fertilizer seized from Russian businessman

The 2,700 tons of fertilizer believed to have caused the explosion that devastated Beirut had been confiscated from a Russian businessman — who “abandoned” his cargo ship after an unsch…

nypost.com

 

[Bonywasawarrioraway]

No, you didn't read properly: 30% of our imports come from those countries, not 30% of our consumption. We do produce plenty of our own wheat, and also import from other countries. It is complicated, because some of our wheat is exported to SADC countries.

It varies year on year as a function of our somewhat variable climate and the subsequent size of the harvest. Some years we export cereals by the f**k-ton. Other years we import them in equal quantities. Occasionally we both import and export maize simultaneously. Yes, I know the latter makes no sense but I have seen it with my own eyes.

Anyway, at the moment we are importing wheat and at least some of it is coming from Ukraine. Given that their ports have been brought to a standstill, only the ships currently en-route will still arrive. Some wheat, probably already paid for will never see our tummies.

 

[Bonywasawarrioraway]

What people dont get, you can easily have a famine while being a food exporter.

Yup. while it's not a staple food, a good example is calamari. South africans catch some of the finest quality calamari in the world, and yet, almost no south africans have ever eaten any of it. What we eat in restaurants is all imported. The entire local catch is exported.

 

[Thugscub]

Bread R100 a loaf coming to your nearest corner shop.
Maize, farmers cannot get into harvest until the rain stops.
Not looking good.

 

[Johnatan56]

Oh, no... Does that mean I shouldn't eat the jujubes and longans I bought yesterday?

On a side note, I reckon SA groundwater is some of the worst in the world due to mining, factory waste and now sewerage which has impacted almost every water source throughout the country.

Not even close.

2017 one, estimated at 80%+

China's war on water pollution' must tackle causes of deep groundwater pollution

Dr. Matthew Currell, School of Engineering RMIT University, Australia This contribution is based on an article published in Environmental Pollution, Vol. 218 (2016), entitled 'Deep Challenges for China's War on Water Pollution,' authored by Dongmei Han, Matthew Currell, and Guoliang Cao. As part

globalwaterforum.org

2014 one was 60% from official sources (and note that it's not a truly free press there)

China says more than half of its groundwater is polluted

Number of groundwater sites of poor or extremely poor quality increases to 59.6%, Chinese government says

www.theguardian.com

South Africa has pretty good regulation in regards to stopping it, and used to have okay enforcement, most areas the groundwater is still okay. China has pretty much no rules, and no enforcement.

 

[BBSA]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1501502295099465729

 

[rambo919]

There goes the rest of the worlds marmite.... slowly but surely.

 

[ES1]

Will this have an affect on coffee as well?

It will affect condoms, tampons, toilet paper, bottled water, hosepipes, armchairs, fishing tackle....

 

[rh1]

Imagine if the SA government used this crisis as a way to bolster the agricultural industry in SA. Some helpful things they could do:
1) Stop the attacks on property rights.
2) Get rid of closed shop union agreements and ban strikes that are not approved under a secret ballot.
3) Introduce a reformed version of the commandos that combines police, private security and civilian units into a competent rural security unit.

Then use our influence in Zimbabwe to get Zimbabwe to do the same sorts of pro-market reforms for them. Within a few years both SA and Zimbabwe would be major food exporters leaving the Ruskies in the cold.

We should just Annex Zimbabwe and called it South East Africa. Our reason, the majority of their people is living off us anyway and is in SA. We might as well get their resources.

Edit: I know our army cannot do this.