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Agriculture
About 12% of South Africa’s surface area can be used for crop production. High-potential arable land comprises only 22% of total arable land. Some 1,3 million hectares (ha) are under irrigation.
Agricultural activities range from intensive crop production and mixed farming to cattle ranching in the bushveld, and sheep farming in the more arid regions.
The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is responsible for production and resource management; agricultural support services; trade and economic development; food safety and biosecurity; forestry; and marine aquaculture.
Economic contribution
Primary agriculture contributes about 3% to South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) and about 7% to formal employment. However, there are strong linkages into the economy, so that the agro-industrial sector comprises about 12% of GDP.
For the past five years, agricultural exports have contributed on average about 6,5% of total South African exports. Exports increased from 5% (1988) to 46% (2009) of agricultural production.
The largest export groups are wine, citrus, maize, grapes, sugar, apples, pears and quinces. Other important export products are undermatured ethyl alcohol, avocados, pineapples, dates, preserved fruit and nuts, as well as hides and skins.
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Production
Producer prices of agricultural products increased on average by 1,7% from 2009 to 2010. The weighted average price of field crops dropped by 6,2%. This was mainly the result of lower prices received for summer grains, dry beans and cotto. Prices of vegetables, fruit and viticultural products increased by 42,3%; 6,8%; and 1,8% respectively.
Summer grains, dry beans and hay decreased by 18,6%, 8,9% and 1,4% respectively. Prices of sugar cane, tobacco, oilseeds and winter grains increased by 15,1%, 10,9%, 3,6% and 1,4% respectively.
The demand for meat remained strong and meat prices increased between 8% and 15%. The prices of milk and most dairy products decreased in 2009 due to the surplus production of raw milk in 2008 and a slump in international dairy prices.
| (R’000) |
| Field crops |
|
| Maize |
13 522 |
| Wheat |
3 191 |
| Hay |
3 116 |
| Grain sorghum |
314 |
| Sugar cane |
4 825 |
| Groundnuts |
453 |
| Tobacco |
346 |
| Sunflower seed |
1 504 |
| Soya beans |
1 431 |
| Other |
1 353 |
| Total |
30 055 |
| Horticulture |
|
| Viticulture |
3 474 |
| Citrus fruit |
6 455 |
| Subtropical fruit |
2 088 |
| Deciduous and other fruit |
8 757 |
| Vegetables |
7 802 |
| Potatoes |
4 775 |
| Other |
2 172 |
| Total |
35 523 |
| Animal products |
|
| Wool |
1 424 |
| Poultry and poultry products |
29 598 |
| Cattle and cattle products |
15 203 |
| Sheep and goats slaughtered |
3 677 |
| Pigs slaughtered |
2 924 |
| Milk |
9 253 |
| Other |
3 442 |
| Total |
65 521 |
| Grand total |
131 099 |
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Field crops and horticulture
The largest area of farmland planted with field crops is maize, followed by wheat and, to a lesser extent, sugar cane and sunflower seed. The grain industry is one of the largest in South Africa and is a very strategic one. According to the Economic Review of South African Agriculture, the gross income from field crops decreased 14,1% to R27 617 million for the year ended 31 December 2009.
- Maize is the largest locally produced field crop, and the most important source of carbohydrates in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) for animal and human consumption. South Africa is the main maize producer in the
SADC region, with an average production of about 9,7 million tons (Mt) a year over the past 10 years. It is estimated that more than 8 000 commercial maize producers are responsible for the major part of the South African crop, while the rest is produced by thousands of small-scale producers. Maize is produced mainly in North West, the Free State and Mpumalanga. A total of 13,4 Mt of maize was produced in 2009/10 on 3,3 million ha of land (non-commercial agriculture included).
- Wheat is produced mainly in the winter-rainfall areas of the Western Cape and the eastern parts of the Free State. In 2010, 1,52 Mt were produced on 558 000 ha of land.
- South Africa is the world’s 12th-largest producer of sunflower seed, which is produced in the Free State, North West, on the Mpumalanga Highveld and in Limpopo. An area of 397 700 ha was planted in 2009/10, producing 509 000 t.
- The cane-growing sector comprises approximately 35 300 registered sugar-cane growers farming predominantly
in KwaZulu-Natal, with a substantial investment in Mpumalanga and some farming operations in the Eastern
Cape. Sugar is manufactured by six milling companies with 14 sugar mills operating in these cane-growing regions.
- South Africa is the leading exporter of protea cut flowers, which account for more than half of proteas sold on the world market.
| Maize |
13 431 |
| Wheat |
1 967 |
| Sugar cane |
16 866 |
| Grain sorghum |
226 |
| Soya beans |
566 |
| Sunflower seed |
509 |
| Citrus fruit |
2 167 |
| Subtropical fruit |
670 |
| Vegetables |
2 506 |
| Potatoes |
2 089 |
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Some other crops
- Deciduous fruit is grown mainly in the Western Cape and in the Langkloof Valley in the Eastern Cape. Smaller production areas are found along the Orange River and in the Free State, Mpumalanga and Gauteng. In 2010, South Africa produced 656 884 t of subtropical fruit, which were 642 t more than in 2009.
- Citrus production is largely limited to irrigation areas and takes place in Limpopo (16 255 ha), Mpumalanga (11 681 ha), the Eastern Cape (12 923 ha), KwaZulu-Natal (4 004 ha), the Western Cape (9 524 ha) and Northern Cape (639 ha). Pineapples are grown in the Eastern Cape and in northern KawZulu-Natal. Other subtropical crops such as avocados, mangoes, bananas, litchis, guavas, papayas, granadillas, and macadamia and pecan nuts are produced mainly in Mpumalanga and Limpopo, and in the subtropical coastal areas of KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape.
- The 2011 overall wine-grape crop size was estimated at 1 279 017 t according to the South African Wine Industry Information and Systems. This was 1,4% more than the 2010 crop. With the exception of the Orange River, Breede Kloof and Worcester, all nine cultivation districts were expected to have bigger crops. The 2011 crop – including juice and concentrate for non-alcoholic purposes, and wine for brandy and distilling wine – was expected to amount to 992,5 million litres, calculated at an average recovery of 776 litres per ton of grapes. This was 1% more than the 2010 wine crop.
Did you know?
About 8,5 million people depend directly or indirectly on agriculture for their employment and income.
Guided by government's New Growth Path (NGP), the agricultural sector has been identified as one of the sectors that has significant potential to create jobs. The NGP targets job opportunities for 300 000 households in agriculture smallholder schemes, and a further 145 000 jobs in agroprocessing, which in turn will have the potential to upgrade conditions for 660 000 farm workers by 2020.
The department is committed to creating 130 000 jobs in the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors by 2014.
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Livestock
Nearly 80% of agricultural land in South Africa is mainly suitable for extensive livestock farming. Livestock are also kept in other areas, usually in combination with other farming enterprises. Numbers vary according to weather conditions. Stockbreeders concentrate mainly on developing breeds that are well adapted to diverse weather and environmental conditions.
The livestock sector contributes up to 49% of agricultural output. South Africa generally produces 85% of its meat requirements, while the remaining 15% is imported from Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland, Australia, New Zealand and Europe. The livestock industry is the largest national agricultural sector.
The South African dairy industry is important to the job market, with over 4 000 milk producers employing 60 000 farm workers and providing 40 000 people with indirect jobs
within the value chain such as milk processing.
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Support to smallholder farmers
The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries aims to increase its support to new and existing smallholder farmers, working in close collaboration with the provinces to achieve its targets.
In the 2011/12 financial year, 15 000 smallholder farmers were targeted, including support provided to small-scale foresters and fishers.
A grant of over R1 billion was allocated to the nine provinces. By June 2011, the provinces had received the initial 10% of their allocation, which was followed by a further 20% in the next month, and the remaining allocations in October 2011 and January 2012.
The Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme has been reprioritised to respond timeously to the demands of the Land and Agrarian Reform Project (LARP). The LARP is
aimed at accelerating and aligning land and agrarian reform in South Africa.
Did you know?
Government has embarked on a mechanisation strategy aimed at stimulating production by smallholders, with a special focus on rural areas and the former homelands.
By August 2011, the initial 85 tractors had been increased to 272 and were used in 40 projects to till 12 835 ha of land, benefiting 1 608 people in Mpumalanga.
In KwaZulu-Natal, the 85 tractors were increased to 190 and were used by nearly 200 traditional leaders to service over 9 000 ha. In Mpumalanga, a fleet of tractors is part of the Masibuyele Emasimini Programme, while in KwaZulu-Natal the State owns and manages a fleet of tractors and employs and trains the tractor drivers.
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Climate change
The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is a major role player in climate-change activities within the agricultural sector. The department has several climate change related policies and programmes. These are in addition to the Disaster Management Act, 2002 [PDF] and the National Disaster Risk-Management Framework, 2005 [PDF], which address agricultural risk-management and climate change.
The department’s climate-change programmes and policies are aligned with South Africa’s National Climate-Change Response Policy. The Climate Change Sector Plan for Agriculture (Working Paper, April 2008) outlines measures of addressing agricultural
sector challenges, namely creating awareness of climate change and the effects of climate change; improving knowledge on climate change; increasing capacity to respond to climate-change impacts; research; and funding research projects.
Source: Pocket Guide to South Africa 2011/12
Editor: Louise van Niekert. Government Communication and Information
System
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Last modified: 14 September 2012 11:21:05.
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