We can view 2024 in SA’s agriculture as a “mixed” year. Indeed, GDP figures will show a sharp contraction in agricultural fortunes in the year. But a deep dive shows a more nuanced picture of mixed performance. The field crops and livestock subsectors, for example, had their fair share of challenges, while the horticulture subsector had a better year.
A midsummer drought led to a 23% decline in SA’s 2023-24 summer grains and oilseeds to 15.40-million tonnes. Animal disease continued to be a big challenge for farmers. It is understandable because there have been various cases of foot-and-mouth disease in cattle, African swine fever in pigs, and avian influenza in poultry over the past three years.
A positive development last year, though not agriculture-specific, is the improvement in electricity supply. It contributed to the sector and partly to the robust horticulture production. In considering the dependence of SA’s agriculture on horticulture, it is worth highlighting that all of SA’s horticulture — fruits and vegetables — depends on irrigation that needs an adequate power supply. In crucial field crops, about 20% of maize, 15% of soy bean, 34% of sugar cane, and nearly half of wheat are produced under irrigation.
As we start 2025, the sector has renewed optimism regarding expected better rainfall and improvements on the animal disease control front. This year’s focus should remain on the opening of export markets, improvement of the network industries, and improving municipality performance.
By Wandile Sihlobo @BL-FinancialMail
