Agricultural focus: South Africa

The news of African countries been called S*t holes by the president of the United States hit most Africans hard. But it also got me thinking; are African countries doing enough to meet up with the rest of the world? I decided to write a series of posts that will examine seven African countries in the area of agriculture. Why agriculture? I chose agriculture because it is the only sector that should matter to us at this stage. We have failed to compete with the likes of China and India in the fields of technology and IT. We have a population that is increasing at an exponential rate and on course to rival China. The least we can do is feed ourselves and avoid any humiliation.

Pixabay

I start my series with South Africa and the words of another US president, President Thomas Jefferson who said:

“Agriculture is our wisest pursuit, because it will in the end contribute most to real wealth, good morals, and happiness.”

South Africa is a rich and diverse country. It has a spectacular range of vegetation types, biodiversity, climates and soil types. The country can be divided into distinct farming regions. South Africa has Intensive crop production activities in winter rainfall and high summer rainfall areas. It also has Cattle ranching in the bushveld and sheep farming in the more arid regions. What makes South Africa unique is that just 13.5 percent can be used for crop production.

Farming regions

Source

Organized agriculture (Agri SA)
Established in 1904, Agri SA consists of 9 provincial- and 24 commodity organizations. It was formerly known as the South African Agricultural Union. It is responsible for drafting policy-related documents such as the National Development Plan 2030 and is also working to ensure a safe environment for all people involved in the agricultural sector. The commodity organizations include:

• Cotton SA
• Red Meat Producers’ Organisation
• Dry Bean Producers’ Organisation
• South African Pork Producers’ Organisation
• Forestry South Africa Medium Growers Group
• South Africa Cane Growers’ Association
• Grain SA
• Tobacco Institute of Southern Africa
• Milk Producers’ Organisation
• South African Mohair Growers’ Association
• National Wool Growers Association of South Africa
• South African Ostrich Business Chamber
• Wildlife Ranching SA
• Banana Growers’ Association of South Africa
• Canning Fruit Producers’ Association
• Citrus Growers’ Association of Southern Africa
• Deciduous Fruit Producers’ Trust
• Dried Fruit Technical Services
• South African Garlic Growers’ Association
• South African Nursery Association
• South African Subtropical Fruit Growers’ Association
• South African Table Grape Industry
• Tomato Producers’ Organisation Growers’
• Wine Producers

Wildlife ranching is the fastest growing sector

Pixabay

Economic impact
The value of primary agricultural production in South Africa was 18 billion dollars in 2014. Agriculture is a major earner of foreign exchange and provides employment. Agriculture is also a significant provider of employment in rural areas. The estimated value of imports during 2014 was approximately 5 billion dollars. The estimated value of exports during 2014 was approximately 8 billion dollars

South Africa top five agricultural exports
• Citrus fruit: 900 million dollars
• Wine: 600 million dollars
• Grapes: 500 million dollars
• Apples, Pears and Quinces: 460 million dollars
• Maize: 400 million dollars

South Africa top five agricultural imports
• Wheat and Meslin: 460 million dollars
• Rice: 375 million dollars
• Poultry: 330 million dollars
• Palm oil: 316 million dollars
• Undenatured ethyl alcohol: 308 million dollars million

Top export trading partners

1. Netherlands: 650 million dollars
2. Zimbabwe: 458 million dollars
3. United Kingdom: 450 million dollars
4. Mozambique: 383 million dollars
5. Hong Kong : 225 million dollars

Conclusion
With just 3% of its farmable land considered to be top grade , South Africa has done remarkably well in agriculture. South Africa's Fresh fruit finds a good market in Europe because it matures during the northern hemisphere's winter. Agriculture is not a major part of its GDP but South Africa plans to expand irrigated agriculture by at least 145 000 hectares. This is because Water supply is set to decrease by 60% by the year 2070 in parts of the Western Cape.

Thanks for reading.