by Wandile Sihlobo | Jul 9, 2020 | Agricultural Production
The locusts which emerged in East Africa towards the end of last year remain a serious challenge for the agricultural sector. This is specifically the case in Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia, according to reports from the Food and...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Jul 4, 2020 | Agricultural Production
The high-frequency data on both domestic and global markets reinforced our view that grain prices could be under pressure this year and that, in turn, could lead to subdued food price inflation. In June 2020, the International Grains Council (IGC) lifted its estimate...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Jun 30, 2020 | Agricultural Production
I usually blog on Thursday evenings but we had important data today, June 30. So, I figured it would be good to tap in and provide a synopsis of it. After experiencing four consecutive quarters of contraction because of droughts and foot-and-mouth disease amongst...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Jun 26, 2020 | Agricultural Production
There is consensus amongst South Africa’s agricultural economists that the next frontiers for growth in the sector will be through the expansion of production mainly in the former homelands provinces (KwaZulu Natal, Eastern Cape and Limpopo).[1] The government land...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Jun 18, 2020 | Agricultural Production
This essay first appeared on Fin24, June 15, 2020 The South African agriculture sector has the potential to be amongst the sectors that will drive economic growth and job creation during the post-COVID-19 recovery phrase. The path to realise this growth does not need...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Jun 11, 2020 | Agricultural Production
This essay first appeared on Business Day, June 9, 2020 Some countries in the Southern and East Africa regions will again need large imports of maize in the 2020/2021 marketing year, which ends in April 2021. However, their saviours won’t be your typical major global...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Jun 6, 2020 | Agricultural Trade
The ongoing Covid-19 crisis has brought uncertainty to global trade because of disruptions in supply chains and weakening demand. South Africa’s agricultural sector, which is export-oriented, is one of the sectors I feared would be disrupted by the pandemic. So...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Jun 4, 2020 | Agricultural Production
I’ve recently cautioned that dryness in parts of Europe and North America could lead to poor grain yields, which would mean that anticipated record harvests in 2020/21 might fail to materialise. But data released by the International Grains Council (IGC) last week...
by Wandile Sihlobo | May 28, 2020 | Agricultural Production
This essay first appeared on Business Day, May 26, 2020 As we continue to learn to live in the Covid-19 era, the business of agriculture has to go on and provide much-needed food to the world. The focus for many countries is now on the wheat production prospects for...
by Wandile Sihlobo | May 26, 2020 | Africa Focus
Since the pandemic started several countries have adopted restrictive trade policy approaches such as export bans and export quotas. The justification for such policies was consumer-focused, as the countries needed to ensure domestic food security during this...
