By Luc Henry: Business Area Head and Managing Director of Syngenta South Africa.
The winds of global change are strong, but local agriculture is well-positioned to benefit from the opportunities that arise during volatile times.
You should never waste the opportunities offered by a good crisis, so the saying goes… and despite dramatically swirling global forces, South African agriculture is well-placed to do exactly that.
Our national harvest table teems with quality output and is remarkably free of the indigestion currently afflicting many agricultural economies. The winds of global change may be blowing strongly, but we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that local agriculture is, for the most part, well-positioned to take advantage of the opportunities that inevitably present themselves during volatile times.
The range of colours, flavours, and food types sitting happily on South Africa’s collective agri-table offers rich evidence of our farmers’ ability to not only produce high-quality nutrition, but to do so in a sustainable way that forms a robust food security backbone.
Testament to this is the amazing spread showcased at the Syngenta Boerekos Plaaskombuis, a culinary experience that sits at the heart of Grain SA’s Nampo Harvest Day, one of the largest agricultural exhibitions under private ownership in the southern hemisphere.
The Syngenta Boerekos Plaaskombuis – now in its second year – is an amazing and delicious food experience, and, crucially, it also encapsulates the essence of grain farming and the importance of feeding the continent. It shows very clearly that South Africa is in an excellent position to use leading technologies to create more from less, and to ensure sustainable food production throughout the entire value chain, from farm to plate.
Strong, well-spread foundations
In 2024, South Africa’s overall agri production was slightly down, but performance was nonetheless good, and 2025 looks set for a steady recovery. Our key export market in 2024 was the African continent, which took up a full 44% of our export volumes. The EU (19%) and Asia (21%) were also important channels. The Americas took 6% of total exports, with the 10% balance spread across the rest of world. South Africa is clearly exposed, like many countries, to fast-changing global trade dynamics; and for certain industries, such as citrus, the current concerns are especially sharp. Nonetheless, on average our agri sector is certainly not over-exposed to any single market, or relationship.
Our fundamentals are also in decent shape. Widespread La Nina rains have been a little late, and heavy, creating operational challenges and potentially impacting quality levels and harvest schedules. The weather outlook for some crops, like wheat, remains troublesome, but in general terms conditions look to be lifting just in time to avoid major, across-the board disruptions.
The summer grain and oilseeds production forecast is up 16%,” says Henry, “We are also making good progress with yellow maize production. In contrast, better dam levels and a more stable electricity supply for irrigation will continue to benefit the horticulture sub-sector.
Much quiet background work
Within the context of weather challenges and rising levels of global trade uncertainty, it’s essential to recall that South Africa has, in recent years, undertaken significant diplomatic efforts to open up access to new agricultural markets.
Although still nascent in agri terms, our position with BRICS has important future potential. All the evidence suggests that South Africa will continue to seek active agricultural trade relationships with a wide range of viable partners, while steadily gaining ground in priority markets such as China, India, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, among others.
In addition, while many headlines are currently very USA-centric (for admittedly good reasons), other global players with less tumultuous media profiles have been taking up key positions in South African agriculture for some time now.
Syngenta invests approximately US$1.1 billion in research and development annually and is a prominent player in South African agriculture. It is also by no means the only global player with a vigorous local presence. Collectively, the access to world-leading R&D, technology, and business capabilities that investors offer has immense potential to provide strong support to producers in their quest to maximize commercial value.
Putting opportunity to work
South Africa still has important work to do to maximise this growth potential. Most importantly, the country needs to improve its general agricultural bureaucratic systems and accelerate administrative response times.
When it comes to the introduction of data protection systems, for example, local farmers are currently unable to fully benefit from a company like Syngenta’s international innovations due to the restrictions imposed by local systems. If it can align more closely with international norms in such areas, it will deliver significant additional value to producers.
These kinds of sustained, deep investments mean our farmers can send the best possible products to market in a sustainable manner. Equally, more opportunities can be created for growers to fill more gaps in existing markets, while also taking advantage of new opportunities to supply new markets. Although they may not receive much media attention, there is no doubt that the country already has access to diverse agricultural investments and relationships, positioning it well to both cope with current stresses and exploit new opportunities for growth.
A different, exciting future
The shifting trade dynamics unfolding in various parts of the world currently are often rooted in a simple yet pivotal fundamental principle: well-equipped and capable agricultural economies naturally find themselves well-positioned to exploit rapidly changing tides. Despite facing many challenges, the local agri-economy still fits comfortably into the well-equipped and capable category.
