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Significant growth recorded in south africa's agricultural sector in 2023
Agricultural industry 2023 Financial and Production Statistics Report released by Stats SA on Thursday revealed positive growth in the industry.
Image: Phill Magakoe / AFP
The latest Financial and Production Statistics Report, released by Stats SA on Thursday, painted an optimistic picture for South Africa's agricultural industry.
This as total income for the sector reached an impressive R491.7 billion in 2023, reflecting a 6.8% annual increase compared to the R332.0bn reported in the 2017 Census of Commercial Agriculture (CoCA).
The main drivers behind this growth were the farming of animals, which accounted for R186.1bn or 37.8% of total income, followed closely by mixed farming with R115.9bn or 23.6%, and horticulture contributing R103.5bn or 21.0%.
Additionally, Stats SA noted a positive shift in the agricultural services and fertiliser production segments, with their share of total income rising from 1.1% in 2017 to 2.5% in 2023.
Despite these gains, there was a notable decline in the farming of animals, which saw its share decrease by 2.4 percentage points during the same period.
Provinces such as the Western Cape led the contributions to total agricultural income with R100.9bn, followed by Free State and Gauteng, illustrating the sector's regional diversity.
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Employment figures in the agricultural sector also displayed a modest rise, with a total of 770 181 people employed as of June 30, 2023, representing a 0.5% increase since 2018.
Horticulture emerged as the dominant employer within agriculture, providing jobs for 311 426 individuals, or 40.4% of the workforce, followed by mixed farming and cereals production.
Land usage trends indicate significant growth in the cultivation of essential crops. Between 2017 and 2023, the areas planted with maize, soya beans, wheat, and sunflower seeds expanded notably, with sunflower seeds being the most predominantly cultivated under dry land conditions at 93.6%.
Among fruit production, oranges showed a remarkable 13.8% increase in area planted, while naartjies and lemons reported increases of 47.8% and 53.6%, respectively.
Conversely, banana production saw a decline—down 15.4% from 220 thousand tons to 186 thousand tons, highlighting the mixed fortunes within the industry.
The cattle sector saw a 12.1% decrease in sales from 3.2 million to 2.9 million between 2017 and 2023. The Free State, Gauteng, and Mpumalanga remained the leading provinces for cattle sales, underlining the geographical nuances of the industry.
Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist of Agbiz said it was critical that South Africa's agriculture continue to grow and remain competitive in the global environment.
'This sector provides much-needed jobs in rural South Africa and generates foreign earnings through exports,' Sihlobo said.
'We have nearly a million South Africans working in primary agriculture, and over 300 000 South Africans working in the value chain. The sustainability of these jobs hinges on the growth of the sector and improving incomes for the role-players.'
Sihlobo added that South Africa's agriculture has more than doubled since 1994, and the increase in farm productivity and exports has been the key catalyst.
'We remain optimistic that the sector will continue to expand in the coming years,' he said.
'Still, the government, working collaboratively with the private sector, must address the failing municipalities, animal diseases, inadequate road and rail, rural safety issues, and widen export markets, amongst other interventions that are key for supporting the sector's long-term growth prospects.'
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