SA must build on the positive sentiment evident in agriculture and agribusiness by implementing long-term plans and tackling the ongoing growth constraints in the sector.
The path ahead for the sector remains clear through the Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan (AAMP), which took the collaborative efforts of all stakeholders to draft.
The AAMP’s core objective is to drive inclusive growth in the sector by addressing constraints across commodities and cross-cutting matters such as land reform.
In early February, the US president cited misleading claims about SA’s land reform in his executive order against SA.
Amid these headlines, we worried there would be a sense of pessimism about business conditions in the sector.
Positively, the Agbiz/IDC Agribusiness Confidence Index, a sentiment indicator in SA’s agriculture and agribusiness, registered a notable 11-point uptick from Q4 2024 to the 70-point mark in Q1 2025.
This is the highest level since the end of 2021, a La Niña year that brought favourable rains across the country.
Moreover, at the time, most subsectors of agriculture operated openly while the government placed restrictions on others to control the spread of Covid-19.
The current optimism in agriculture emanates mainly from the La Niña rains, which have supported crop, fruit and vegetable production conditions.
We also see a welcome improvement in the grazing veld, which benefits the livestock industry.
Moreover, the decline in maize prices, while not always welcome for a grain farmer, benefits the poultry and broader livestock industries.
The recent moderation in prices is a welcome relief for poultry and livestock producers who have struggled with higher feed costs.
In such an environment, it is vital that SA builds on this optimism and implements the programmes within domestic control.
For example, within the poultry industry, we continue to hear from our members about the need for SA’s authorities to accelerate bird flu vaccine registration.
The feedback from the regulators about this issue has not been encouraging so far.
Given what we are observing in the US, where bird flu has worsened, SA must prepare itself for such possible challenges in future.
In years where we have experienced bird flu, the challenge goes far beyond the farms to jobs and higher food prices in the country.
Therefore, ensuring we do whatever is possible within the limits of regulation to accelerate this registration process for vaccines is vital.
An important issue for horticulture and wine producers is accelerating the opening up of key export markets.
While this has been a long-running talking point in the sector, SA cannot keep moving at a pedestrian pace on trade matters during heightened geo-economic tensions.
There is a need for renewed energy and urgency from the government officials’ side.
The Brics region remains crucial in this endeavour, among other regions.
Here, the government must have a sharper focus on lowering import tariffs and phytosanitary barriers in countries such as China, India and Saudi Arabia, with the latter mainly for fruit.
Moreover, continuous efforts to retain access to markets SA already exports to is also vital.
SA must also rethink its agricultural marketing or promotion approach in this export effort.
Presenting SA’s products as a pack under the “SA Inc” approach may be key.
The livestock industry is also geared to promote its exports.
Thus, there is a need to market and promote SA products as a pack.
For this export effort to be a success for the livestock industry, the sector, collaboratively with the government, must continuously address animal diseases.
Notably, the provincial authorities should appreciate that they must apply regulations to control the spread of animal diseases such as foot and mouth, without choking the industry.
Also worth emphasising is that serious engagements with domestic vaccine manufacturing is also crucial and requires government and private sector collaborative efforts.
For the export drive to succeed, the logistics must also improve.
Therefore, the collaborative work with Transnet and other stakeholders to improve the efficiency of the ports remains vital and must continue.
We are already seeing the gains of these collaborations through increasing exports.
Still, more work is required, and collaboration is key.
Road infrastructure is another matter this sector must continuously emphasise to provincial and local authorities as it remains at the heart of the sustainability of agriculture.
Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist at the Agricultural Business Chamber of SA