By The agricultural sector in South Africa experienced a dip in the fourth quarter of 2023, due to decreased economic activity in some of the produce. Though the trend was downward, the Free State province managed to increase its produce and became a major contributor in the sector’s GDP.
According to StatsSA, 2023 was a challenging year for the agricultural sector as it GDP decreased by 9.7 percent in the fourth fiscal quarter of 2023. The report showed that the decrease was due to decreased economic activities for field crops, animal products and horticulture products.
The sector has been having it tough recoding its first major annual contraction since 2019, shrinking by 12.2 percent. This was a major nose dive since 1995 where the agricultural sector experienced a free fall of -19.9 percent.
According to the Free State MEC for the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) Ms Elzabe Rockman, indications are that the agriculture, forestry and fishery industry increased its GDP by 13.5 percent in the first quarter of 2024, contributing 0.3 of a percentage point.
“This was primarily due to increased economic activities reported for horticulture products. It is of course too early to determine whether the sector will turn-around the annual contraction of 2023 but we must always remember that farming is a profession of hope,” said MEC Rockman.
As the sector is on a recovery trajectory, the threat of climate change remains a concern, though MEC Elzabe Rockman says the El Niño will have less of an impact on the agricultural sector in terms of rainfall because of improved soil moisture from past rainy seasons; severe weather conditions as forecasted by the South African Weather Services (SAWS) for summer is a course for concern.
SAWS has forecasted above normal minimum and maximum temperatures. The World Meteorological Organisation has also warned that the El Niño and climate change could lead to record breaking temperatures in the next five years.
Despite the many challenges in the agricultural sector in the country, the Free State has claim its breadbasket position back as it was reported by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development trends report that the province was the major contributor to the sector with particular challenges facing certain crops.
According to the report, the Free State contributed 44 percent of maize production, being the biggest in the country. 52.2 percent of the bulk of sunflower, 49.2 percent of soya beans, 39.3 percent groundnuts, 26.5 percent of dry beans and 15.7 percent of sorghum were all produced in the Free State.
According to the MEC, the province planted 24 000 hectares less wheat than the previous production season.
“In addition to traditional crop production, the Department will support and encourage the production of deciduous fruit in the Eastern parts of our province, leveraging off the competitive advantage of our climate and relative geographical accessibility to all markets.
According to Hortgro, the Free State has 527 hectares of apple orchard amounting to 817 402 trees planted. Although the Free State only produces 2 percent of the country’s apples, a year-on-year growth of 10 percent is projected due to the vastness of land, availability of water and favourable weather patterns,” said MEC Rockman.
“Extensive livestock farming continues to dominate the bigger part of our province, particularly sheep and cattle farming. The production of weaners for feedlot industry constitutes the main form of cattle farming in the province. Livestock farming continues to be faced with particular challenges, including stock loss through wild animals, stock theft, veldfires and outbreaks of disease,” she continued.
Rockman says it is important for all role players in the agricultural sector in the Free State to pull together and work towards the transformation and diversification of the sector, as it is an ideal vehicle to grow the economy of the province and deal with the challenges of poverty and unemployment.
