by Wandile Sihlobo | Jul 4, 2019 | Agricultural Production
These past few days I spent a bit of time discussing maize production conditions in the Southern and Eastern African regions, but there are other important developments that are worth keeping an eye on here in South Africa. The 2019/20 winter crop season is underway...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Jul 3, 2019 | Africa Focus
In economics, natural experiments are hard to come by, but once in a while, you hit a jackpot without even paying a lottery ticket. For agricultural policymakers in South Africa and the continent at large, the recent developments in Zimbabwe are one such experiment....
by Wandile Sihlobo | Jul 3, 2019 | Agricultural Production
I am always amazed by how fast the sentiment can change in the global agriculture market. Just a few weeks ago, agricultural analysts across the world were concerned that the excessive wet weather conditions in the U.S. would lead fewer plantings and poor yields. This...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Jun 29, 2019 | Agricultural Trade
The expansion in most agricultural subsectors in South Africa has been export-driven, particularly in the horticultural sector. This sector is labour-intensive, and the expansion also brought jobs. This somewhat compensated for the dwindling labour participation trend...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Jun 28, 2019 | Africa Focus
I’ve noticed on the news wires this evening that Zimbabwe has banned its local farmers from selling maize to anyone other than the state Grain Marketing Board as the government moves to keep prices of the staple food down. This move follows a poor harvest after...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Jun 28, 2019 | General Comments
The Mail & Guardian has included my name on its list of 200 Young South Africans 2019. In the past, this list had great South Africans like Mr Julius Malema, Mr Trevor Noah and Professor Mamokgedi Phakeng, and other folks. I am humbled to have my name written in...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Jun 27, 2019 | Agricultural Production
SA’s maize supplies for the 2018/2019 production year are shaping up better than feared in January 2019. This is when dryness in the western parts of the country threatened to delay plantings. On June 26, SA’s Crop Estimates Committee left its 2018/2019 maize harvest...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Jun 25, 2019 | Agricultural Trade
This afternoon (June 25), my colleague, Theo Boshoff and I will be meeting with the Indian business delegation that is in South Africa for various matters. They want to discuss agricultural trade. I’ve been trying to put my thoughts in order ahead of the meeting. So,...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Jun 24, 2019 | Agricultural Production
O.K., folks, I have to confess, by the time I was writing a piece following last week’s U.S. Crop Progress report, I thought the U.S. farmers would have completed maize plantings by now. But the data coming out of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) shows...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Jun 24, 2019 | Africa Focus
Sometimes the light comes from the most unusual places. This morning Bloomberg put out a piece noting that Tanzania is set to sell 1 million tonnes of maize to neighbouring Kenya which is facing a major maize shortfall this year. At first glance, one would think –...
