By agricultural economist Wandile Sihlobo
One of the themes that dominated the White House Press session last night was agriculture – the idea that the farming sector in South Africa is under siege and people are running away. But this could be no further than reality.
The South African farming sector or farming community is not under siege. And yes, the country has devastating crime incidents, which should remain a significant worry for all.
However, it is necessary to state that land expropriation without compensation is prohibited in the country, that the recent Expropriation Act has been massively misrepresented, and that property rights remain intact. Land Reform is still based on the market principles of the willing buyer and willing seller.
Some have portrayed the agricultural sector as a victim, but it has actually made enormous progress over time, contributing significantly to the country’s overall economic growth. The sector has more than doubled in value and volume terms since 1994.
This expansion was broadly shared across all major South African farming economy subsectors, including horticulture, field crops and livestock.
Catalysts for South Africa’s agricultural growth
Amongst other interventions, two major catalysts are behind the sector’s progress.
First, South Africa has adopted technological advancements in agriculture to drive productivity. This entails improved genetics, seed cultivars, vaccines, agrochemicals and fertilisers, among other interventions. Better farming skills also help immensely.
Second, the growing emphasis on agricultural trade has been a key driver of progress. South Africa has seen growth in its agricultural exports over time, reaching a record US$13,7 billion in 2024. South Africa is now ranked the world’s 32nd largest agricultural exporter, the only African country in the top 40 in terms of value.
The export boom was facilitated by the range of trading agreements the South African government had secured over the past decades, the most important being those with African countries, Europe, the Americas, and some Asian countries.
The African continent and Europe now account for approximately two-thirds of South Africa’s agricultural exports, while Asia is also becoming an increasingly important market.
Food security gains
The increase in agricultural output over time is also a major contributor to South Africa’s ranking of 59th out of 113 countries in the Global Food Security Index, making it the most food-secure country in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Admittedly, boasting about this ranking when millions of South Africans go to bed hungry every day may ring hollow. We have a serious food insecurity challenge at the household level in South Africa.
Many South Africans lack access to food primarily due to income poverty challenges rather than a lack of availability resulting from low agricultural output, as is the case in other parts of Africa.
In essence, we need to ensure that there is employment and that households have sufficient income to purchase food, or implement various interventions to support them, while being cognizant of the fiscal constraints the country faces.
Robust employment
Even with the adoption of technology that catalyses agricultural productivity improvements, employment in South Africa’s agriculture has remained robust. For example, according to data from Stats SA, about 922 000 people were employed in the industry in 1994, including seasonal and permanent labour.
While seasonal and regular labour share changed over time, broad employment conditions remained vibrant. As of the last quarter of 2024, approximately 924,000 people were employed in primary agriculture.
We have also seen more encouraging employment conditions within the value chain. Notably, wages have also improved over time.
Inclusivity in South Africa’s agriculture
The agricultural progress of the last 31 years is admirable and provides a solid foundation for further expansion, with a clear focus on enhancing inclusivity. As I argued in my book, A Country of Two Agricultures, “Nearly three decades after the dawn of democracy, SA has remained a country of ‘two agricultures’. On the one hand, we have a subsistence, primarily non-commercial and black farming segment; on the other, we have predominantly commercial and white farmers.”
The book adds: “The democratic government’s corrective policies and programmes to unify the sector and build an inclusive agricultural economy have suffered failures since 1994. The private sector has also not provided many successful partnership programmes to foster the inclusion of black farmers in commercial production at scale. It is no surprise that institutions such as the National Agricultural Marketing Council estimate that black farmers account for less than 10%, on average, of commercial agricultural production in SA.”
This lacklustre performance by black farmers in commercial agriculture cannot be blamed solely on historical legacies. The democratic government has a lot to account for in this failure.
Notably, black farmers account for approximately 10% of South Africa’s commercial agricultural output. Still, as I argued in the book, “What we can also not ignore is the anecdotal evidence pointing to a rise of black farmers in some corners of SA. We see this in field crops, horticulture and livestock in provinces such as Free State, Western Cape, Eastern Cape and other regions.”
Concluding remarks
I have decided to revisit these points because, amid the current climate where some argue that the South African farming sector is under siege, it is easy to fall for such narratives and lose sight of the progress South Africa is making in this critical sector of the economy.
As I highlighted in my book, A Country of Two Agricultures, South Africa has great potential to increase the “agricultural pie” by bringing in more new entrant farmers, utilising, as a starting point, much of the government’s underutilised agricultural land of roughly 2.5 million hectares. This land would need to be released with titles to appropriately selected individuals. This can be paired with blended finance support and leaning on the training and support of commodity associations.
The expansion of agricultural activity would bring much-needed jobs to rural South Africa while also improving its economic vitality and inclusivity. This could be an essential step for this decade to close the gap between the current two agricultural sectors in South Africa.
