SA starts its winter crop season with some uncertainty about the weather outlook

This month, we will have farmers in the Western Cape likely begin to prepare the soil for the 2024/25 winter crop production season by the end of April into May. Other major winter crop-producing provinces, such as Free State, Limpopo and the Northern Cape, will likely start around the end of May.

The production of winter crops outside the Western Cape has sizable irrigation support. These regions should benefit from the relatively higher dam levels from the early summer rainfall.

In major winter grains such as wheat, nearly half of the production in South Africa is produced under irrigation. The irrigation share in overall wheat production is essential in an environment where drier weather conditions and heat waves are causing significant damage to summer grains and oilseed regions.

The weather outlook remains uncertain for rainfed regions, which could negatively affect the planting in the 2024/24 season.

Listen to the podcast for more details and our outlook.

My writing on agricultural economic matters is available on my blog: https://wandilesihlobo.com/

Podcast production by Lwandiso Gwarubana, Richard Humphries, and Sam Mkokeli