South Africa’s agricultural sector is facing a critical juncture as government and industry leaders take sharply opposing positions on the country’s 2025–’26 agricultural plans. At the heart of the debate lies a fundamental question: Should transformation take precedence over profitability and competitiveness?
By Maile Matsimela
The ANC Study Group on Agriculture has thrown its full support behind the revised Annual Performance Plans (APPs) for the Department of Agriculture and its entities. These plans place transformation at the core of agricultural policy, a move that has sparked strong pushback from major industry organisations, warning that such an approach could threaten the sector’s long-term viability.
The Case for Transformation: Redress and Food Security
The ANC Study Group views transformation not only as a moral imperative but as essential for achieving food security and economic justice. Their position paper argues that empowering black farmers and professionals will strengthen the sector by unlocking talent and improving sustainability.
“True transformation in agriculture will not only empower black farmers and professionals but also enhance productivity and sustainability by drawing on the talents of all South Africans,” the group stated.
Food inflation and its disproportionate impact on low-income households are central to the group’s concerns. They have welcomed the Department of Agriculture’s efforts to consolidate food price monitoring – specifically the integration of the National Agricultural Marketing Council’s Food Price Monitor and Input Cost Monitor into a unified Food and Input Cost Report.
“Ensuring affordable, available food is not only a moral imperative but also foundational for a healthy, productive nation,” the group emphasised.
The group has also praised plans to expand market access for emerging black farmers and to establish a second veterinary faculty, which they view as key to building a more inclusive and accessible agricultural system.
Despite ongoing budget pressures, the ANC Study Group insists that essential agricultural programmes – such as biosecurity, food security, research and farmer support – must be protected from budget cuts to maintain momentum towards a more inclusive sector.
Industry Pushback: Concerns Over Competitiveness
Many in the agricultural sector have expressed serious concerns about the government’s direction. Leading the criticism is Dr Theo de Jager of Southern African Agri Initiative (Saai), who argues that the revised plans prioritise social goals at the expense of economic realities.
“The transformation agenda is mentioned 92 times in the master plan, but profitability on farms, competitive value chains, sustainability and efficiency not once,” De Jager points out. He argues that such an imbalance could undermine the sector’s global competitiveness and discourage private investment.
Organisations such as Saai, TLU SA and agricultural suppliers’ groups have refused to sign the Agriculture and Agro-Processing Master Plan, signalling widespread dissatisfaction.
Bennie van Zyl from TLU SA echoes these concerns, pointing to the collapse of state extension services as evidence that transformation efforts are failing in practice. “In many cases, extension workers cannot even help themselves,” he says, criticising the erosion of what were once world-class support systems.
Van Zyl also warns that continued implementation of black economic empowerment, cadre deployment and similar policies has weakened governance and service delivery in agriculture.
Finding Common Ground: A Call for Inclusive, Competitive Growth
Wandile Sihlobo of the Agricultural Business Chamber (Agbiz) has taken a more balanced view. While supporting inclusive growth, he argues that South Africa’s food insecurity problem is not due to production shortages but rather poor access caused by household poverty.
“The food insecurity is not due to a lack of nutritious, high-quality food… Access to food, especially for households without a regular income, appears to be the biggest problem,” he says.
South Africa remains a leading agricultural exporter on the continent, yet food insecurity persists due to income inequality. For Sihlobo, policies that strengthen income security, rather than undermine the sector’s export competitiveness. may prove more effective in addressing hunger and malnutrition.
As South Africa charts its agricultural path for the years ahead, the challenge will be to strike a balance between redress and economic performance, ensuring the sector is both inclusive and globally competitive.
