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.
This year, the maize harvest process will be slower than usual in South Africa
We have completed the 2024-25 marketing year for maize in South Africa, which ended in April. We are now at the start of the 2025-26 marketing year. This new marketing year corresponds with the 2024-25 production season.
The fuel price decline comes at an opportune time for SA farmers
The easing of the fuel price comes at a critical time for South Africa’s agriculture. Fuel consumption generally occurs throughout the year, but harvesting is one of the highest usage periods. We are harvesting grains, oilseeds and citrus.
The Eastern Cape must lead the implementation of the Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan
We typically focus on the national level when considering agricultural development and the possibilities of growth and jobs the sector can bring. Most of our plans, such as the recent Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan, heavily emphasise the national level.
The troubling decline of the South African sorghum industry
Whenever I post about the challenges in the maize industry on X, I often see responses from people arguing that South Africans should consume more sorghum. They correctly highlight the crop’s nutritious value and resilience in challenging climatic conditions.
There are ample grain supplies in the world
The International Grains Council forecasts the 2025-26 global grain production to be 2.4 billion tonnes, up 4% from the previous year. This forecast comprises all major global soft commodities – maize, wheat, rice and soybeans.
A picture we want to see in the summer grain and oilseed regions of South Africa
We have all been worried about the excessive rains in South Africa’s 2024-25 summer grains and oilseed producing regions lately. Yes, the season was completed roughly a month later than the typical schedule, so the crop pollination was also late. Thus, the rains in March helped greatly in supporting the crop.
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.