Farming associations and experts welcomed the announcement on the formation of SA’s Agricultural Conditions Assessment Committee.
This follows the reporting of a sharp decline in South Africa’s agricultural performance in the third quarter of 2024, with a quarter-on-quarter decrease of 28.8%.
The committee will include the Department of Agriculture, Agri SA, Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz), and the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP). .
In a joint statement, Agbiz and Agri SA said that the committee will meet regularly to assess the state of agriculture in South Africa and release brief insights following their discussions.
Wandile Sihlobo, the chief economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of SA, said that the committee will be formed and start its work this month.
“It will be housed at the Department of Agriculture and include organised agriculture and some academics. Its main aim is to ensure there is high-frequency data about agricultural conditions and also general insights about the operating conditions of farmers,” he said.
Sihlobo added that this will help improve the general public and policymakers' understanding of the sector's condition.
Professor Bonke Dumisa, an independent economic analyst, said that he fully agrees with the formation of SA's Agricultural Conditions Assessment Committee. “This new body must not become just another committee where contentious topics are simply dumped. This new committee must be preemptive and not reactive.”
Professor Irrshad Kaseeram, from the University of Zululand's economics department, said he too welcomes the committee.
“High-frequency data helps to view the sector's performance and will help financial traders in the futures market. If the Agriculture Department and Agri Chamber of Commerce can put together contingency funds for timely relief to small farmers that cannot afford agri insurance, then the data will certainly be useful to needy farmers,” Kaseeram said.
Farming association TLU SA general manager, Bennie van Zyl, said that they welcomed the committee formation as a measurement was needed to make decisions.
However, one had to keep in mind the factors affecting production. The situation with agriculture is currently intense and there are so many factors that influence what happens to farmers and the industry, he said.
“It's very difficult to have a sweeping statement for the whole of the agriculture industry, especially in 2024. We experienced different amounts of rain in areas such as Mpumalanga Province and the North West Province there was about 30 millimetres of rain, but 5 km away, there is only about 2 mm of rain."
Van Zyl added that it also matters what the planting date is for the farmer. “This certainly impacts the farmer’s yield for the entire production season. So, for the farmer, making a successful season is a challenge, especially as the rain came late this season. There are a lot of factors that led to this decline in the third quarter of 2024. When they deliver their maize earlier or later, it will have an impact on the third quarter’s figures. I'm not saying this is definitely the case, but it is something that we have to bear in mind.”
Van Zyl said, “Farmers that farm cattle or sheep have been raising prices significantly, but their input costs have been increasing significantly. They are also under significant pressure to make a profit. The maize farmer had challenges last year in certain areas where there was drought that has impacted production. That is why, with the formation of the committee, I feel we also need to look at the data as a whole package year on year.”
Van Zyl added that this data could help farmers on when it's best to plant crops like wheat, maize and soya beans.
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