by Wandile Sihlobo | Aug 21, 2019 | Food Security
Since the start of the year, South Africa’s agricultural commodity prices have increased notably from levels seen over the same time in 2018, specifically grains and oilseeds. Under normal circumstances, one would expect the price increases in agricultural commodities...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Aug 19, 2019 | Africa Focus
The headline of this post captures the consistent question I kept getting from folks after publishing an essay arguing that the recently launched African Continental Free Trade Agreement would potentially open additional avenues for South African products to...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Aug 12, 2019 | Africa Focus
Droughts or floods always have a devastating impact on agriculture. But the second-round effects on livelihoods are manageable in countries that are economically stable, depending of course on the magnitude of the impact. However, for countries, with economic...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Aug 11, 2019 | Agricultural Production
It is almost certain that SA’s agricultural economy will contract in 2019, mainly as a result of the poor summer crop harvest coming after a drought. The Western Cape, which typically provides a cushion when there is a drought in summer-rainfall areas, was not in good...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Aug 7, 2019 | Agricultural Production
We can have different views about the agricultural policies that the South African government adopted since the dawn of democracy, but the one thing we can all agree on, I hope, is that the sector has grown tremendously – as illustrated in Figure 1. Importantly, this...
