Page 11 - 11 Cotton SA March 2017

NEWS

U.S. Farmers: GMO Crops Help Reduce Nuwe Nasionale Minimumloon
Inputs and Enhance Conservation
n October last year, over increase in water usage and ie onlangse aankondiging oor 'n nasionale
I280 farmers across the US application of pesticides, if Dminimum loon wat op 1 Mei 2018 in werking
were surveyed about their GMO seeds were not to be sal tree, is gebaseer op 'n uurlikse tarief van R20.
attitudes toward GMO available to them as a choice Die landbousektor sal vir eers 90% van genoemde
crops. They were asked to in crop production. loon moet betaal. Dit kom daarop neer dat landbou
weigh in on a range of R18 per uur sal betaal. Die 2018
topics regarding the impact Additional survey findings implementeringsdatum is nou 'n jaar vroeër as wat
of GMO technology on the include: aanvanklik aangekondig is.
environment, pesticide use,
and yields, among others. 87% of farmers indicated Die landbou sal reeds vanaf Maart vanjaar R15.39
GMO seeds allow them to per uur betaal. Dit is na aanleiding van 'n
Findings conclude that minimize pesticide and verhoging wat deur die Minister van Arbeid aan
farmers believe bio- herbicide usage. die minimum loon vir landbou aangebring is, wat
technology helps raise Sustainability: 64% of die minimum loonvlakke vir landbou reeds met 8%
crops more efficiently, and farmers believe GMO verhoog het. Dit bring landbou alreeds nader aan
that the environment and seeds allow for efficient die loon wat aangekondig is.
sustainability practices will management of resour-
suffer if GMO technology ces, specifically, fuel,
utilization is reduced in crop time and less wear-and-
production in the future. tear on their equipment.
78% of farmers foresee 69% of farmers believe
increased environmental GMO seeds produce a
impacts, including an higher yield.

Uzbekistan Cotton and Textile Industry $2.2 billion, half of which the
country expects to come from
foreign investments. There is
zbekistan, the world’s 6th exports textiles to over 50 also a plan to build textile
Ulargest cotton producing countries. According to Uzbek complexes, which will house
country has set a task to media reports, of overall textile facilities beginning from
process all cotton produced in exports, yarn shipments spinning up to the processing
the country into textiles by account for nearly 50%, which of fabrics. The plan is to also
2020, as against 40% of the will be gradually replaced with create 27,000 new jobs
cotton that is processed value added textile products. In through these investments,
currently, from just 7% in order to achieve the goal, the while also upgrading 10
1991. As of date, the country country plans to invest around existing textile mills.

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