Wandile Sihlobo is the Chief Economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz) and the author of three books, “The Uncomfortable Truth About South Africa’s Agriculture (2025)”, “A Country of Two Agricultures: The Disparities, The Challenges, The Solutions (2023)” and “Finding Common Ground: Land, Equity and Agriculture (2020)“.
He is a Senior Lecturer Extraordinary at the Department of Agricultural Economics at Stellenbosch University.
Sihlobo is also a Visiting Research Fellow at the Wits School of Governance, University of the Witwatersrand, and a Research Associate at the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) at Rhodes University.
Sihlobo was appointed as a member of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Presidential Economic Advisory Council in 2019 (and re-appointed in 2022), having served on the Presidential Expert Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture from 2018.
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, The Herald and Farmers Weekly magazine.
His weekly podcast, “Agricultural Market Viewpoint with Wandile Sihlobo“, is available on all podcast platforms.
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.
South Africa has just harvested its largest soybean crop in history
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Evolving factors shaping the outlook for SA agriculture in 2026
We continue to receive encouraging reports on the prospects for La Niña-induced rainfall during the 2025-26 summer season. Most regions of the country have received excellent rain since the start of October. Soil moisture has improved notably across various areas of the country.
Navigating the Great South African Honey Puzzle
The Business Day has a story today about “Fake honey” detections in some informal, non-franchise outlets of South Africa. This reminded me of the observations I once made back in June 2018.
National vaccination of cattle a good move for South Africa
The livestock and poultry industries account for nearly half of South Africa’s farming fortunes. So when there are frequent cases of animal disease, there tends to be panic about the impact on growth. In recent years the cattle industry has struggled with foot-and-mouth disease, leading to temporary closures of some key export markets and an increasing financial burden on farmers.
South Africa lifts its Maize Exports Forecast
We knew from the start of the 2024-25 season that South Africa would remain a net exporter of maize, as the crop looked promising. With the 2024-25 production season over, with an ample harvest of 16.44 million tonnes, up 28% year-on-year and the second-largest maize crop on record, the export figures are also being revised up.
A few days of warm weather would be ideal for South African agriculture
I’m happy about the warm, sunny weather today and hope for a few more days of it so South African farmers can accelerate fieldwork. Some regions of the country are excessively wet, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State, the northern Eastern Cape, and north-eastern Mpumalanga.
Wandile Sihlobo is the Chief Economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz) and the author of three books, “The Uncomfortable Truth About South Africa’s Agriculture (2025)”, “A Country of Two Agricultures: The Disparities, The Challenges, The Solutions (2023)” and “Finding Common Ground: Land, Equity and Agriculture (2020)“.
He is a Senior Lecturer Extraordinary at the Department of Agricultural Economics at Stellenbosch University.
Sihlobo is also a Visiting Research Fellow at the Wits School of Governance, University of the Witwatersrand, and a Research Associate at the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) at Rhodes University.
Sihlobo was appointed as a member of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Presidential Economic Advisory Council in 2019 (and re-appointed in 2022), having served on the Presidential Expert Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture from 2018.
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, The Herald and Farmers Weekly magazine.
His weekly podcast, “Agricultural Market Viewpoint with Wandile Sihlobo“, is available on all podcast platforms.
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.