Ons saai en bemes; ons beheer ook plantluise en onkruid.

Here ons means we.

Afrikaans ons can mean both we and us, depending on its role in the sentence. In this sentence it is the subject of the verbs saai, bemes, and beheer, so it means we.

Because Afrikaans verbs usually do not change according to the subject in the present tense.

So you get:

• ek saai
• jy saai
• ons saai
• hulle saai

This is much simpler than English, where you get changes like I control but he controls. In Afrikaans, the verb form usually stays the same.

It is repeated because the semicolon separates two full main clauses:

• Ons saai en bemes
• ons beheer ook plantluise en onkruid

Each clause can have its own subject, so repeating ons is completely natural. It also makes the sentence clearer and more balanced.

You could also combine everything more tightly, but this version emphasizes the two actions as separate but related ideas.

In a normal Afrikaans main clause, the finite verb usually comes second.

So in:

• Ons = first element
• beheer = second element
• ook comes after that

That is why the sentence says Ons beheer ook plantluise en onkruid.

If you wanted to put ook first for emphasis, the word order would change:

• Ook beheer ons plantluise en onkruid.

Not here.

In this sentence, plantluise and onkruid are being talked about in a general sense, not as specific aphids or specific weeds. Afrikaans often leaves out the article in this kind of general statement.

So:

• ons beheer plantluise en onkruid = we control aphids and weeds, in general

If you were talking about specific ones, you might use die:

• ons beheer die plantluise in die tuin = we control the aphids in the garden

Plantluise is plural.

The singular is plantluis, meaning aphid.
So:

• plantluis = aphid
• plantluise = aphids

This is a useful word to remember because the plural is not formed in the most basic way; it changes from -luis to -luise.

Grammatically, onkruid is singular in form, but in meaning it often works like a mass or collective noun, similar to English weeds or weed growth.

So even though English often translates it as weeds, Afrikaans commonly uses onkruid as one general word for unwanted plants.

That is why plantluise is clearly plural, while onkruid stays as onkruid.

Here beheer means control in the sense of manage, keep in check, or deal with.

It does not necessarily mean completely remove or destroy. In a farming or gardening context, beheer is a very natural word for controlling pests and weeds.

So ons beheer ook plantluise en onkruid means that we also control/manage aphids and weeds.

They are two different farming actions:

• saai = to sow
• bemes = to fertilize / manure

So Ons saai en bemes means We sow and fertilize.

A helpful detail is that bemes is related to mis in the sense of manure, so it has the idea of enriching the soil.

The semicolon links two closely related independent clauses.

It is stronger than a comma, but not as final as a full stop. So the sentence is saying: these are two separate actions, but they belong together as part of the same overall activity.

You could also write it as two sentences, or connect it with en, but the semicolon gives a neat, slightly more formal written style.