September 2022

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is one of the key indicators of healthy soil life, as it reflects the amount of organic matter present in the soil.

The precise measurement of water is crucial in developing efficient, sustainable, and highly productive farming practices.

Invasive alien plants (IAPs) can have numerous impacts on biodiversity, ecosystems and society in South Africa.

During the recent Lead Auditor training conducted by SIZA (7 – 8 September 2022), it came to our attention that there is still confusion lingering about the usage of French drain systems as a disposal method for contaminated water/chemicals at chemical filling points on farms.

Recordkeeping of energy usage will assist members with calculating their Carbon Footprint, as a year’s worth of data is needed, and further assists members with illustrating the improvement made towards reducing carbon emissions.

The recruitment process must be adequate, transparent, effective and implemented with responsibility by adequately trained/experienced staff.

Audit firms and auditors are core stakeholders of the SIZA programme and valuable partners in compliance for all parties involved in the audit process.

The SIZA Audit Dispute procedure was implemented with the sole purpose of ensuring that producers can raise a concern in a safe space if they disagree with a specific finding.

Findings should be raised per code requirement as contained in the SIZA Standard, and it should not include multiple findings under one requirement.

If a business operates multiple crops and commodities which fall into different harvest/peak production cycles, e.g., a winter commodity and a summer commodity, and the workforce differs, then the audit must occur during the highest peak production cycle, where the most workers are present.