Heavy rains in SA agriculture

--:--
In this week’s podcast segment, agricultural economist Wandile Sihlobo shares his observations of how the heavy rains in South Africa influence farm activity. He provides granular insights into each agricultural subsector. For example, the rains have had a mixed impact on fruits, where Banana and macadamia fields were distracted in parts of Mpumalanga. In contrast, the overall country and other fruits were left untouched.
In the field crops, the sugarcane fields thrive in these rains, while maize farmers in the Free State are experiencing excessively wet conditions that delay plantings. He also dives into the livestock industry issues, outlining possibilities of disease occurrences in this period.
Broadly, this week’s segment is a necessary update on South Africa’s agricultural conditions from an on-the-ground perspective.

Credit:

Production by Lwandiso Gwarubana, Richard Humphries, and Sam Mkokeli
23 Nov 2022 English South Africa Investing · Food

Other recent episodes

South Africa’s food inflation risks amid the drought

The damaging effects of persistent dryness and heatwave in South Africa's summer crop-growing regions have raised concerns about a possible rise in consumer food inflation in the coming months. With South Africa's food price inflation averaging 11% in 2023 (from 9.5% in 2022, 6.5% in 2021, and 4.8% in 2020),…
18 Mar 12 min

SA agricultural exports reach a record US$13.2 billion

Despite all the challenges at the ports and various export markets, the South African agricultural sector has continued to realize excellent export activity. Total agricultural exports reached a new record of US$13.2 billion in 2023, up 3% from the previous year. This is stronger than our earlier expectations of a…
4 Mar 12 min

SA farm jobs up 7% year-on-year

Wandile Sihlobo unpacks the latest agriculture trends and statistics in this podcast. After a notable jump in the third quarter of 2023 to 956,000, South Africa's primary agricultural employment fell by 4% quarter-on-quarter to 920,000 in the last quarter of 2023. Jobs declined mainly in the Eastern Cape, Western Cape,…
26 Feb 13 min