Agricultural economist from South Africa. Author, “A Country of Two Agricultures” (2023) and “Finding Common Ground: Land, Equity & Agriculture” (2020).
Folks, South Africa has no shortage of potatoes.
Our supplies are solid.
The black frost impacted potato production in the northern regions of Limpopo.
But, the farmers are working hard to close the gap, and the potato deliveries in the various areas are encouraging.
Folks, I realize that some people may unintentionally share wrong statistics about agricultural land ownership in South Africa.
We wrote this piece as an attempt to clarify some misconceptions.
Please read.
Restaurateurs should be honest with South Africans (and tourists) about the lamb (and other foods) they serve.
Telling folks that the lamb on their plate is from the “Karoo lamb” when it is actually sourced from a feedlot far away from the Karoo is food fraud.
Over the past five years, South Africa’s total exports to Russia averaged a mere 0,4% per annum.
Russia is the 52nd largest export market for South Africa.
China, the US, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Mozambique, India, Botswana, Belgium, Namibia,
Folks have been sending me a screengrab from SABC news with a headline that China cancels big US maize orders to choose to import from South Africa.
South Africa is an essential player in global agriculture but can never replace the US in the Chinese market. We don’t have the
The Eastern Cape government cannot pride itself on championing the agricultural sector and yet have minimal interest in improving the roads and water infrastructure, which are critical for the success of the agricultural sector.
The photos I receive from various dairy farmers,
South Africa benefits far more from trade with the US than with Russia. Therefore, from a purely economic standpoint the better approach in an increasingly uncertain world is to nurture relationships with countries with which the country already has strong economic ties.
Fellow South Africans,
Karan Beef, through the “THE KARAN BEEF ACADEMY”, has published an excellent educational video series designed to provide essential cattle farmer training to the future commercial farmers of South Africa.
This 10-part series aims to equip aspiring and
I know my colleagues at Business Day will probably not be happy with me sharing the whole
@Bruceps
column like this.
But Peter’s column is so important and all caring South Africans should read it.
When some South Africans realize that the country imports roughly half of its annual wheat consumption, the question they typically ask is; why is South Africa not expanding its domestic production in all the fallow land in some provinces?
This is a fair question to ask in a
South Africa benefits immensely more from trade with the United States than Russia. Therefore, from a purely economic standpoint, the reasonable step to take in a world of uncertainty is naturing relationships with countries with which a country has strong economic ties.
The
The message carried by some newspapers today regarding South Africa's agricultural exports to the EU needs to be corrected.
There are no changes in regulations -- the status quo remains.
Farmers will continue to access the EU market, which is vital to our fruit and wines.
South Africa exported 124 899 tonnes of maize last week.
About 65% of these maize exports went to China, 20% to South Korea, and the remainder to our neighbouring countries.
China was a surprise; we haven't sent such a large volume of maize there in the recent past. I'm looking
I spent my day in Middelburg, the Karoo region of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, attending the Karoo Winter Wool Festival. It was an excellent festival showcasing the value chain activities of the South African sheep industry and the Karoo Heritage.
In the speaking
If you would like to know what food grows where in this great country of ours -- Republic of South Africa -- this map should help.
It shows the agricultural production areas across the country.
Each colour represents an agricultural subsector.
Why should Karoo farm be paid a premium for their lamb?
The Karoo region of South Africa is unique and beautiful — the true South African heartland. The farming activity is mainly sheep production — wool and meat.
The meat is of superior quality because of the region's
Tell your uncles that the lobola is ready. In addition to cattle, we have karoo lamb, which is highly valued, almost as much as some cattle.
My chief lobola negotiator is
@aycawe
; he will be in touch with your uncles.
I just listened to the Western Cape’s government’s economic strategy launch.
The guys are doing encouraging work there.
We need such focus in other provinces, and for the Western Cape government to continue to broaden its work and impact all communities there that have not
The panic buying will potentially cause problems in the South African food supply chain that would have otherwise not been there. The food supply chains in the country are functional and we shouldn't be panic buying stuff.
Introducing my new book, "A Country of Two Agricultures".
It will be available in all major bookstores from this Friday, 01 September 2023.
The Kindle version is already out:
Earlier this week, I met with South Africa’s current Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform, and Rural Development, Ms. Thoko Didiza, for a discussion about my new book, “A Country of Two Agricultures”.
She is currently reading the book and will share her reflections at the
The Eastern Cape government and business community should take its tourism sector seriously, market it and fix roads, etc. We have so many beautiful places for folks to come and enjoy.
Merry Christmas from the banks of the Umzimvubu River in the Wild Coast region of beautiful South Africa.
The water is flowing into Port Saint Johns. 🇿🇦✨
“South Africa has a stockpile of 7.8m J&J jabs and 9m Pfizer shots due to the low take-up, with administered vaccines peaking at 280,000 per day (in August), but dropping off to about 110,000 per day.” -- Citi
Vaccinate today 🇿🇦
Phakamisa wrote such an important book, and I'm positive South Africans would find it valuable and support it. I don't know why most bookstores don't order and showcase it.
“Over the past five years, South Africa’s blueberries exports grew from 1 792 tonnes in 2015 to 15 636 tonnes in 2020. This was accompanied by eightfold growth in employment from 1 000 workers in 2014 to 8 000 in 2019.” -- Justin Mudge, Chair of BerriesZA
Sorghum is one of the nutritious grains, but its production in South Africa has declined notably over time as consumption has also remained weak.
I am glad to see that South African farmers have increased the plantings by 17% y/y to 39 600 hectares this year.
Oom Nick Serfontien, one of South Africa’s foremost agriculturalists who also cares deeply about inclusion and assisting new entrants farmers, mainly in livestock, is reading “A Country of Two Agricultures”.
I’ve featured the encouraging work of his organization, the Sernick
It is disappointing to see our friends in Botswana have extended the ban on imports of vegetables (including high-quality vegetables from South Africa).
This is not good for consumers in Botswana and the South African farmers.
Young farmers in the Eastern Cape (Ugie area) are harvesting their soybeans – receiving yields that are well above the national average of 1,8 tonnes per hectare.
This is a province to expand agricultural production, and KZN and LP, which still have tracts of underutilised land
What’s up with South African retailers labelling lamb as “free range lamb” — if it is Karoo Lamb, state it that way, and if its Namibian, Overberg and Free State lamb state it so the consumer has a better grasp of the traceability of the meat.
I have been driving a lot in small towns in Free State and the Eastern Cape for various reasons, even now during the summer holidays. Typically, during the December holidays, there would be increased activity with people doing Christmas shopping, but this year, most towns seem
We should plant more trees in villages across South Africa, especially in the central and northern regions of our country. This will also help in these extremely high temperatures.
It is devastating to watch the destruction of the great University of Fort Hare.
Professor Buhlungu and his team are trying hard to clean up the endemic corruption there and should be protected and supported.
Since we are looking at an El Niño possibility this coming season, I thought sharing this chart that illustrates the El Niño impact globally might be helpful.
For South Africa, the expected weather changes would be a shift from a prolonged period of La Niña to El Niño. South
At Stellenbosch University, we have the best AgriScience faculty in Africa. Good school for students to join. We probably have the best Agricultural Economics department in Africa. We have good links with Fort Hare, UP, UFS, and other universities, especially post-grad.
This is such a positive story in a space that has chaotic management and corruption. I wish many municipalities in the Eastern Cape, and across the country can be inspired by this wonderful example. 1/
China bought 108 104 tonnes of maize from South Africa in the last week of March into April 2023.
This activity formed part of South Africa’s maize exports in the 2022/23 marketing year.
Importantly, this was not the first time China bought South African maize, but the volumes
Just been on a long call with folks from Loxton, a small town in the Karoo region of the Northern Cape, listening to them talk about the severe socioeconomic challenges and economic possibilities of their town.
We need to think of ways of rejuvenating South Africa’s small
South Africa has had four seasons of La Niña induced heavy rains from 2019/20 to 2022/23. These above-normal rains supported agriculture leading to higher yields across various field crops, fruits and vegetables. The livestock industry also benefitted from improved grazing
Valuable clarification from South Africa’s Agricultural Ministry on this issue of agricultural exports to the EU and UK.
The statements on the weekend papers are incorrect.
I am glad that
@FarmersWeeklySA
published our comment on the Botswana ban on South African vegetable exports.
We hope this issue can be resolved soon so that we can all focus on driving regional agricultural production, and not these trade glitches.
Botswana consumers are
If would like to know what food grows where in this great country of ours -- Republic of South Africa -- this map should help you get a rough idea.
It essentially shows the agricultural production areas across the country.
Each colour represents an agricultural subsector.
I have just been to Exclusive Books at Woodlands Mall and signed a few copies.
If you are in Pretoria, please go visit the folks there.
I appreciate your support 😃🇿🇦
Good morning folks,
Agriculture remains one of the success stories in South Africa’s economic progress, irrespective of the various challenges the country has faced over the past few decades.
South Africa exported 131 694 tonnes of maize last week.
Of this volume, about 42% was exported to Taiwan, 23% to Japan, 16% to Vietnam, 11% to South Korea, and the balance to the neighbouring countries.
This placed South Africa's 2023/24 maize exports at 430 451 tonnes out
It’s a sad period in SA agriculture
Yesterday we lost Prof Mohammed Karaan, one of SA’s preeminent policy advisors in the fields of agriculture development & land reform
He was also a mentor for the younger generation of agricultural economists like myself
We mourn his passing
“Africa’s coup belt spans the continent: a line of six countries crossing 3,500 miles, from coast to coast, that has become the longest corridor of military rule on Earth.” NYT
Worrying.
The hostility towards South African agriculture by neighbouring Botswana and Namibia is not in the spirit of building regional agricultural cooperation.
On July 19,
@OfficialMasisi
, the president of the Republic of Botswana, wrote on X that "Our ban on imported vegetables was a
South Africa expects an ample maize harvest of 16,1 million tonnes in the 2022/23 season. This is 5% the previous season and the third-largest crop on record.
Yes — I continue to recommend “A Country of Two Agricultures” not only to folks interested in agriculture, and rural economy matters but to all South Africans.
South Africa was the 32nd world's largest agricultural exporter in 2023 – the only African country within the top 40 world's largest agricultural exporters in value terms.
The total agricultural exports amounted to US$13,2 billion. Here is a share by region:
-Africa: 38%
-Asia
South Africa is a significant producer of avocados (see charts).
The country exports over a third of the domestic produce, around 50k tonnes (see charts).
South Africa typically exports its avocados to Europe, the Middle East and the African continent.
China is a new and
South Africa’s agricultural exports reached a new record of US$13,2 billion in 2023, up 3% from the previous year.
Here are the key markets by share:
- Africa: 38%
- Asia: 28%
- EU: 19%
- UK: 7%
- Americas: 6%
- Rest of the World: 2%
Read more:
South Africa’s food supply chains are functional and the interruptions caused by unrests in KZN didn’t have a notable nationwide impact.
There is work underway to restore operations within KZN.
An update on such efforts there, from
@Ntombela_SM
and I.