Agricultural Research Council of South Africa

Comparative Energy and Exergy Analyses of Single-Mode and Combined Drying Methods for Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potato

Orange-fleshed sweet potato is valued for its high β-carotene content, a precursor of vitamin A. It is a highly perishable storage root due to its high moisture content, which contributes to rapid deterioration after harvesting. Therefore, it requires drying for preservation and...

Agricultural imports in a changing world for disease risk management through the application of international standards and their economic and food security implications

The expansion of global trade has generated substantial economic and social benefits; however, it has also intensified the transboundary movement of pests, pathogens and invasive species. These biosecurity threats pose significant challenges to the international trade of animals...

70. Understanding the Emissions of Feedlot Beef Cattle with Divergent Residual Methane Emissions.

Abstract Residual methane emission (RME) has been proposed as a novel metric to identify cattle that emit less methane independently of their feed intake and body weight. This study investigated how divergence in RME classification influences feed intake, growth rate, feed effici...

Investigating the Impact of El Niño–Southern Oscillation on Rangeland Productivity in the Limpopo Province, South Africa

ABSTRACT The El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a major driver of climate variability that influences rainfall patterns and vegetation productivity across semi‐arid regions of southern Africa. Understanding how ENSO affects rangeland productivity is essential for improving cl...

Dry Anaerobic Digestion as a Waste-to-Energy Pathway: A Systematic Review of Performance, Scalability, and Deployment Evidence from 2010 to 2025

Dry anaerobic digestion (DAD) is increasingly recognized as a promising waste-to-energy pathway for treating high-solids organic wastes. However, the extent to which the contemporary peer-reviewed literature addresses conditions relevant to scalable implementation remains unclear...

Agricultural Knowledge Systems and Behavioural Determinants of Smallholder Farmers’ Adoption of Underutilised Crops in South Africa

Underutilised indigenous crops (UICs) are increasingly recognised for their potential to contribute to climate-resilient agriculture, dietary diversification, and household food security among smallholder farmers in South Africa. However, evidence regarding farmers’ knowledge, at...

Floods and Food Security in Rural South Africa: Lived Experiences of Households, Farmers, and Food Entrepreneurs in Hamakuya Village

Abstract Floods disrupt food and nutrition security by affecting food availability, accessibility, utilization, and stability. This study examined the effects of flooding on household food accessibility, availability, and stability, and identified coping and adaptation strategies...

Metabolic reprogramming in finger millet following ethyl methanesulfonate mutagenesis

Finger millet is a climate-resilient cereal crop with strong potential for improving food security in marginal environments; however, its improvement has been constrained by low natural genetic variability. This limitation has prompted the use of mutation breeding to expand genet...

Metabolomic Profiling of Agathosma betulina Leaves, Under Wild, Field, and Glasshouse Conditions Using UPLC-QTOF-MS and Multivariate Analysis

Agathosma betulina (P.J. Bergius) Pillans is an aromatic medicinal shrub endemic to South Africa’s Cape Floristic Region, widely used in traditional medicine to treat urinary tract infections, gastrointestinal disorders, colds, and wounds. Despite its commercial importance, limit...