AGRICULTURE
BY FIONA WAKELIN
South Africa’s Agricultural Sector is
GROWING!
T
wo years ago, the South African agriculture sector had been shrinking for four consecutive quarters - contracting by 7% in 2019. In 2020 in the first quarter it grew by 28% with good rains and bumper crops. By August 2020, the National Crop Estimates Committee (CEC) confirmed that SA’s total summer grain and oilseed output (17.85 million tons) was one of the largest on record – and 34% higher than 2019, with the total maize crop of 15.54 million tons being 38% larger than 2019. The citrus industry is also smiling, with South Africa exporting around 2.15 million tonnes in 2020 - up 19% from the previous year. Favourable weather conditions in South Africa over the last year have meant that farmers have been able to plant on time
and increase area plantings for various crops. Higher commodity prices have also improved bank balances, leading to improved sentiment. And, the sector is set to continue to improve with the support of government policies, including the Master Plan on Agriculture and Agro-processing.
R1 billion in grower levies over the next four years going into research and technology According to the Agricultural Business Chamber (Agbiz), the Agbiz/IDC Agribusiness Confidence Index (ACI) improved from 61 points in the fourth quarter of 2020
44 | Public Sector Leaders | April 2021
to 64 in the first quarter of 2021. This is the highest level of the Agbiz/IDC ACI since the second quarter of 2014. These results show that South Africa’s agricultural sector will, optimistically, experience another year of robust growth. “In volume terms, South Africa’s agricultural production has grown by 19 percent since 2010. Encouragingly, this expansion has occurred across all subsectors of agriculture and agro-processing value, that is, horticulture (up 70 percent), animal products (up 43 percent), field crops (up 22 percent) and agro-processing (up 13 percent), according to data from the Bureau for Economic Research (BER) and Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP).” - Wandile Sihlobo, Chief Economist, Agbiz
