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.

Some notes on South Africa’s agricultural performance in 2025

Some notes on South Africa’s agricultural performance in 2025

It is a rather challenging and unusual feeling to write about the positive data of South Africa’s agriculture when the largest subsector of the farming economy is reeling from a severe animal health crisis. The speed at which foot-and-mouth disease is contained and the industry’s revival, along with associated costs to the cattle farming business, is something we will understand better in the coming months.

Rice, Biosecurity, Zambia, Grain, South Africa and more

The central issue in South Africa’s agriculture this week is the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease and its impact on the beef industry. There are also other biosecurity issues worldwide, such as the avian influenza outbreak in Brazil, which led to South Africa temporarily suspending poultry imports from that region.

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.

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