Recovery of SA agriculture sector possible in 2025

The year 2025 is expected to be one of recovery for the South African agriculture sector, according to Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist at Agbiz.

-  Annelie Coleman

In an article published in early January on his website, Sihlobo said much of the county benefitted from the recent La Niña-induced rain.

“However, the recovery may be weaker than initially anticipated. The La Niña rains were late in some regions, such as Delmas in Mpumalanga, various regions of Limpopo, and parts of the Free State. This added strain to grazing conditions and delayed summer crop planting.

“Still, the overall agricultural production conditions promise to be better than in 2024, which was characterised by midsummer drought and animal disease challenges,” he stated.

Parts of the Northern Cape, such as the Namakwa district, were still suffering from extreme drought, according to Willem Symington, Agri Northern Cape president.