These Provinces Have Unused Land Suitable For Agriculture
OK folks, since we are in the midst of ‘land’ discussions, I thought it would be useful to share this chart (see featured image). It basically shows that South Africa has the potential to explore additional, unused land that is suitable for agricultural production....South Africa is the Most Food Secure Country on the Continent
I have said this before, but I will repeat it because I think it is important in highlighting the enormous contribution of South Africa’s agricultural sector. South Africa is ranked as the most food-secure country on the continent and is 44th out of 133 countries...
The Rise of Eastern Cape Black Farmers
I don’t really like taking photos, as I’m sure my Instagram friends have noticed. However, I’m thankful to have taken this particular one (featured image) – not because it features my good looks and charm, but because of what it represents. It was taken four years ago...Structural Changes in the South African Agricultural Economy between 1910 and 2010
There aren’t many academic papers that present a comprehensive picture of the change in pace of the nature of production and productivity growth in South African agriculture during the 20th century like that of the late Dr George Frederick (Frikkie) Liebenberg’s PhD...Clear Course of Action Needed for Youth Participation in Farming
The fact that the farming community of South Africa is ageing is quite concerning. The average age of a farmer in South Africa is 62 years. Meanwhile, in other countries such as the United States the average age is 55 years, and in Australia, it is just 53 years. With...Redistribution of South African Agricultural Land: expropriation without compensation debate*
Over the past couple of days, we’ve heard what political leaders think about the ‘expropriation without compensation’ policy approach that the African National Congress (ANC) announced at its 54th National Conference in December 2017. However, it is still unclear...
Wandile Sihlobo is the Chief Economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz) and the author of “Finding Common Ground: Land, Equity, and Agriculture.”
Sihlobo is Senior Lecturer Extraordinary at the Department of Agricultural Economics at Stellenbosch University.
He is also a Visiting Research Fellow at the Wits School of Governance, University of the Witwatersrand.
He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Fort Hare and a Master of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from Stellenbosch University.
Sihlobo was appointed as a member of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Presidential Economic Advisory Council in 2019 after serving on the Presidential Expert Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture between 2018 and 2019.
He is also a member of the Council of Statistics of South Africa (Stats SA) and a Commissioner at the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (ITAC).
Sihlobo is a columnist for Business Day and Farmers Weekly magazine.