Budding blueberry sector offers fruitful job prospects for South Africa
In her budget vote speech last week, Ms Thoko Didiza, the new minister of agriculture, land reform and rural development, noted that, among other things, she intends to expand SA’s agricultural footprint in export markets. This is a fitting message as the growth of...
Thoughts on South Africa’s Maize Market
South Africa’s Crop Estimates Committee released its monthly update this week. One of the key crops I have been monitoring is maize. This week’s data is particularly important, as it is the second to last update of the season. Moreover, the harvest process has...
Sorghum consumption is not only falling in South Africa, but across the African continent
We have been hearing a lot about the change in consumer preference, with some people preferring what is perceived as healthier diets. But sorghum, which is nutritious, has not taken off, at least in the African continent. Its consumption per capita has been falling...
Challenges in South African Shipping Ports
The Business Times newspaper ran a piece today warning that the growing strikes in South African ports could weigh on agricultural exports, particularly the Citrus industry. But this is not where the story ends. There are also infrastructure challenges in the South...
South Africa cannot afford to ignore economic benefits of cannabis legalization
Essay by Professor Mzukisi Qobo[1] and Wandile Sihlobo[2] Marijuana, cannabis, dagga, weed, pot, Durban poison, ganja, mbanje, insangu, umya — call it what you may, cannabis is set to become a booming industry in the foreseeable future. Cannabis has now been...
Blueberries and Jobs in South Africa
I’ve previously presented the case for agriculture as one of the sectors that could boost rural economic growth and employment in South Africa. The sub-sector that has attracted attention in the recent past is horticulture because it is labour intensive. Within the...
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.